India, June 13 -- 19-year-old Tanisha Shah had never donated blood before. But when she came across a social media appeal on Thursday afternoon, calling for urgent blood donations for the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, she didn't think twice. The BBA student from Vastrapur immediately made her way to the Indian Red Cross Society's centre in Ahmedabad's Navrangpura.

Across Ahmedabad, hundreds echoed the same resolve. As news of the crash spread and fears of mass casualties intensified, people of Gujarat responded with quiet urgency. From teenagers to the elderly, office workers to homemakers, people rushed to blood banks across the city.

In just five hours, the Red Cross centre at Navrangpura collected 550 units of blood, smashing...