Youngsters donate blood at the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion during a Red Spring blood donation festival. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

HÀ NỘI — As spring unfolds across the capital, thousands of donors are stepping forward to give what hospitals need most, with the 2026 Xuân hồng (Red Spring) blood donation festival under way at multiple venues throughout Hà Nội from February 27 to March 8.

The 19th Red Spring blood donation festival is jointly organised by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) and the Vietnam Youth Blood Donation Movement Association, with a target of collecting 10,000 units of blood.

Speaking at the festival’s launch ceremony on March 3, NIHBT Director Nguyễn Hà Thanh said the 2026 Spring Blood Donation Festival would continue to serve as a meaningful gift at the start of the year for patients in need of transfusions.

“Every drop of blood shared at this time is a silent but powerful lifeline, bringing hope to patients in the new spring,” said Professor Thanh.

After five days, the 2026 Red Spring Blood Donation Festival has received more than 5,000 units of blood, which Professor Thanh described as a significant and encouraging result. He said the figure reflected a marked shift in public awareness of the importance of donating blood at the beginning of the year.

“The Red Spring Blood Donation Festival has therefore become an annual event, a meeting point for compassion every spring,” he added.

Since 2010, the National Steering Committee for Blood Donation has selected the Red Spring Blood Donation Festival as one of its key annual campaigns. Over 18 years, in Hà Nội alone, the festival has collected nearly 120,000 units of blood. — VNS