National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and exemplary blood donors at the meeting in Hà Nội on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn lauded blood donors nationwide while meeting 100 outstanding people in the voluntary blood donation campaign in Hà Nội on Friday.

The meeting was held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day (June 14) with the theme “20 Years of Celebrating Giving: Thank You, Blood Donors!”.

Mẫn said that along with changes in population structure, and advances in medicine, hematology and blood transfusion, relevant agencies and organisations must develop solutions to maintain and develop the network of blood donors to make voluntary blood donation activities become more sustainable, thus ensuring a safe blood source, particularly in remote and border and island areas.

He stressed the need to continue improving the quality of disseminations to raise public awareness of the necessity of this work, and enhancing commendations.

It is essential to focus on the application of digital transformation in the management of blood donation activities, and build a unified blood donor database between localities, blood centres, and hospitals that receive blood, Mẫn stressed.

Speaking at the meeting, Health Minister Đào Hồng Lan affirmed that voluntary blood donation has become a movement with widespread influence, attracting and receiving the attention of the entire society.

Among the 100 outstanding delegates honoured at the event, two have donated blood more than 100 times, seven from 70-99 times, and 26 from 50-69 times.

According to the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT), thirty years after the blood donation movement was officially launched (January 24, 1994), Việt Nam has mobilised and received over 21.3 million units of blood, with the number of volunteer donors hitting 99 per cent.

The number of blood units received has seen a 11-fold rise, from 138,000 in 1994 to 1.55 million in 2023. — VNS