A young student donates her hair to help cancer patients during Hair Donation Day in Huế. More than 600 hair sets have been given by donors in three years for cancer patients at the city's Central General Hospital. Photo courtesy of Blood Bank Imperial City

HUẾ — Blood Bank Imperial City, an organisation based in the central city of Huế, will host its third Hair Donation Day to create wigs from donors for breast cancer patients.

The event will take place at Huế High School for the Gifted, No.12 Lê Lợi Street, on March 30.

Chairman of the organisation Nguyễn Công Đức said the donation event has received registrations from 1,000 donors, who will gift 600 hairpieces and 40 tissue donations to the cancer patients.

He said about 100 bras and 50 wigs donated by the Việt Nam Breast Cancer Network will be sent to the Huế Central General Hospital and Huế Medicine and Pharmacy University for post-surgery patients.

Đức added that about 516 artificial hair sets (each costing around VNĐ3.5 million) have been donated to the Việt Nam Breast Cancer Network to make wigs for cancer patients.

Hairdressers cut hair from donors to produce wigs for cancer patients in Huế. More than 500 young students donated their hair to the blood bank organisation in Huế over the past three years. Photo courtesy of Blood Bank Imperial City

He said the blood bank unit, which started operations in 2022 with charity programmes and voluntary donations of blood, stem cells, tissues and organs, had encouraged 500 young people to help patients, while 35 have registered to donate tissues.

“We have received 600 hair donations, of which 100 were given to cancer patients at the city’s General Hospital, and raised VNĐ250 million (US$9,770) for underprivileged families. More than 1,200 students have received communications on the blood bank’s charity programmes,” Đức said.

“The hair donation day is only one of a series of activities that the unit has co-organised with the hospital and the medicine and pharmacy university to help cancer patients,” he added.  

The event will be held all day from 7.30am to 4.30pm at the high school. Donors can contact the organisation through e-mail at nganhangmausongcodo@gmail.com.

A representative of the Huế-based Blood Bank Imperial City at an event on donating blood, stem cells, tissues and organs in Huế. More than 1,200 students in the city have received communications on the charity donation programme. Photo courtesy of Công Đức

According to the Việt Nam Tissue and Organ Donation Advocacy Association, Việt Nam has the highest organ transplant rate in Southeast Asia, with more than 1,000 cases per year, although the rate of posthumous organ donation remains among the lowest in the world.

In 2024, Việt Nam set a record in the number of organ donations, with 41 families agreeing to donate their loved ones' organs or tissues after brain death. — VNS