Blood donation campaign launched in Vietnam

By Anh Kiet 17:43, 2016/01/19

A blood donation campaign called “Red Sunday” has been launched nationwide and its management board is aiming for a collection of between 18,000 and 20,000 blood units.

In addition to the main donation activities, the board members will come to hospitals, visiting needy patients and presenting gifts to them. Speaking at the event held in Hanoi on January 17, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc lauded its societal meaning and effective outcome.

Illustrative image (Source: Vietnam Red Cross Society)

He urged individuals and organisations to support the programme. Vietnam has launched blood donation campaigns over the past 21 years. In 2000, the Prime Minister issued a decision encouraging locals to join the campaigns.

In 2015, these programmes brought in 1.1 million blood units, which account for 60 percent of the country’s blood demand. Thousands of people participated in the campaign, a voluntary blood donation progamme.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Nguyen Anh Tuan said the programme holds a significant meaning in increasing public awareness of sharing precious blood to save patients.

After Hanoi, the programme will travel to other provinces and cities across the country. The “Red Sunday” was first held in 2009. Taking place nationwide on the New Year occasion, the programme has received warm response from the public, especially young people. The initiative was co-organised by the Tien Phong Newspaper, Ho Chi Minh City Voluntary Blood Donation Centre, Cho Ray Hospital and Van Hien University

The 35-day event will run in 23 cities and provinces nationwide, with goals to attract 20,000 donors and receive at least 17,000 blood units. Two groups with 140 volunteers will stop by localities to launch charitable and educational campaigns about blood donation and healthcare for the public.

On the occasion, the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross Society opened training courses for information volunteers for the cause.

This year’s event was co-hosted by the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation and the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion. For 2016-2020 tasks, PM Dung asked the sector to improve preventive and primary health care to ensure everyone has access to quality medical services, as well as taking initiative in preventing diseases from entering Vietnam and intensifying supervisions in order to early detect any arising diseases.

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