A tribute to Narendra Parmar, Biomedical Scientist at NHSBT
From Ian Skidmore, Head of RCI laboratory, Birmingham:
"It is with great sadness that I share with you the loss of Narendra Parmar, a Specialist Biomedical Scientist in Red Cell Immunohaematology (RCI) at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Birmingham.
"Narendra contracted Coronavirus and passed away at his home on the morning of the 19 April. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.
"Narendra was 68 years old and had worked for NHSBT since September 1969. Born in Nairobi he moved to the UK when he was just 14 with his lifelong friend Raman, his family following on some time later.
"He went to Mount Pleasant School Balsall Heath where he excelled academically and met his future wife Manjulla. Narendra and Manjulla married in May 1973 and had three children Reena, Kiran and Tina of whom he was very proud.
"Narendra was a man who loved life. He retained his mischievous, boyish sense of fun throughout his life, always ready with a joke or a cheeky prank.
"He loved playing the Harmonica at community and Diwali functions and would do so at every opportunity. Always keen to stimulate his mind he was a keen reader and could usually be found doing a crossword puzzle on his break.
"Over the course of the last 52 years Narendra worked in almost every department of NHSBT Birmingham.
"During his career he was head of the Components, Quality Monitoring and Frozen Blood Bank departments. As the service changed he adapted, took on new roles and learned new skills so that he could continue to serve.
"Narendra moved to the RCI department in June 2013 where he rediscovered his joy of serological investigation and helping patients more directly with his skills.
"Caring, Expert, Quality - Words that are strongly associated with NHSBT. The same can be used to describe Narendra. The kindest most caring person anyone could ever wish to meet, he had an outstanding wealth of accumulated knowledge which he was always willing to share. Narendra was truly an absolute gem, his love of and dedication to the service knew no bounds.
"Narendra had the biggest heart and was so generous. Whilst he was still doing nights everyone used to want to be on shift with him as he would invariably bring enough of one of Manjulla’s famous curries to share with all.
"No task too much, always the first person to offer help, lend a shoulder to cry on in tough times he was the glue to our RCI family. His big smile was infectious and the perfect start to the working day.
"His wisdom would leave you in awe and his story collection from his years of service just amazing. You couldn’t help but be enthralled listening to one of the many tales he had about life in NHSBT over the last 50 years.
"There are people in this world who bring a light so great that even after they have gone the light remains. Narendra is one such light, love for him will continue to burn brightly in our hearts. Someone so amazing who has without a doubt inspired everyone within RCI to be a better person.
"Memories of our time with him will be cherished by us all and he will be deeply missed."
From Betsy Bassis, CEO:
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of such a well-loved and respected colleague, Narendra, who had dedicated such a significant amount of his life and career to NHS Blood and Transplant.
"Completing over 50 years’ service is just an extraordinary achievement, and is a real demonstration of Narendra’s commitment and passion for the vital work he delivered day in, day out in our shared mission to save and improve lives.
"The tribute by Narendra’s colleagues highlights the strong bonds of friendship he had with his team, as well as his outstanding contribution to the work of the organisation.
"We will be forever grateful for his hard work and dedication. The thoughts of everyone at NHSBT are with Narendra’s wife, children and family during this difficult time."