People donate blood at a blood donation event as part of the 16th Chủ nhật đỏ (Red Sunday) Blood Donation Festival 2024 in Phú Thọ Province on March 3. — Photo tienphong.vn

PHÚ THỌ — A blood donation festival was jointly organised by Tiền Phong (Vanguard) Newspaper, the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Red Cross Society of Phú Thọ Province in Phú Thọ Province on March 3.

The event, entitled "Red drops of Vietnamese roots", was under the framework of the 16th Chủ nhật đỏ (Red Sunday) Blood Donation Festival 2024, launched nationwide from November 2023 to the end of March 2024.

Journalist Lê Xuân Sơn, Editor-in-Chief of Tiền Phong newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee of the 16th Red Sunday 2024. — Photo tienphong.vn

Journalist Lê Xuân Sơn, Editor-in-Chief of Tiền Phong newspaper and head of the Organising Committee of the 16th Red Sunday 2024, said: “Blood used in treating and curing patients is a special medicine that human scientific and technological advances cannot yet prepare. Therefore, when a patient needs blood, they need love and sharing. Red Sunday is one of the places with the highest concentration of that love and sharing heart."

According to Sơn, over the past 16 years, Red Sunday has always done two tasks well, including mobilising as many blood units as possible to meet more fully the need for blood to treat diseases and save lives, and strongly spreading the spirit of voluntary blood donation.

Associate Professor Dr Nguyễn Hà Thanh, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, said: "January 24, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of launching voluntary blood donation in the country. That is the whole process of efforts to change from awareness to action of millions of Vietnamese people.”

“No matter how good awareness is, no matter how advanced science is, it cannot replace blood donations from regular blood donors. Red Sunday has become an indispensable part, accompanying half of that 30-year journey, a humanistic brand that has the power to gather hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic hearts, to together create a warm fire in these cold winter days, contributing drops of blood to revive life,” said Prof. Thanh.

Volunteers check their health before donating blood. — Photo tienphong.vn

After the main festival taking place at the Hà Nội University of Science and Technology on December 24, 2023, up to now, the 16th Red Sunday 2024 has been held in 35 provinces and cities with 69 blood donation events, receiving more than 47,000 blood units.

Along with the Red Spring Festival and Red Journey, Red Sunday has become an important milestone in the development of the voluntary blood donation movement in Việt Nam. — VNS