Delegates launch the World Blood Donor Day (June 14) at the 10th Xuân Hồng (Red Spring) festival in Hà Nội on Saturday. – Photo NIHBT

HÀ NỘI – The National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) collected more than 9,300 units of blood from donors on Saturday in Hà Nội.

The blood donations occurred during the 10th Xuân Hồng (Red Spring) festival, the year’s largest blood donation event.

The donations have brought the total collected blood to more than 60,000 units, each containing 350ml, donated during ten festivals since 2008.

Speaking at the event, deputy health minister Nguyễn Thanh Long highlighted the blood drive as an important milestone in the development of voluntary blood donation movement in Việt Nam.

“The Xuân Hồng festival is very different from the many cultural and sport activities in the country during the spring season. It is the only festival where people come together to share feelings and their responsibilities to patients by donating blood to save lives,” said Long.

“The festival helped ease the situation of blood shortages during the Tết (Lunar New Year) period, saving the lives of thousands of patients over the past nine years,” said Long.  

Long noted that the festivals changed the public’s knowledge and behaviour about blood donations, creating a new tradition of donating blood during the New Year period. 

Praising contributions by blood donors, mainly the young and students, as well as the NIHBT’s programme over the past nine years, Long called upon the public and authorities to continue to regularly donate blood, not only at Xuân Hồng, but also many other times during the year to save more patients who need blood transfusions.

Students donate blood for patients needing transfusions at Xuân Hồng (Red Spring) festival in Hà Nội on Saturday. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

NIHBT director Dr. Nguyễn Anh Trí said that the event contributed to easing blood shortages following the Tết (Lunar New Year) period and to strengthen community awareness about voluntary blood donations.

“The festival model has been expanded throughout many provinces and cities nationwide, and no hospital reported blood shortages during the Tết period,” said Trí.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy, a Thalassemia patient, noted that she used to wait many days for blood transfusions at the NIHBT.

“The Xuân Hồng festival has ended the situation of blood shortages. I now do not have to wait for blood anymore,” said Thủy.

The festival organisation board said more than 51,000 units of blood were collected during the nine Xuân Hồng blood donation festivals.  Last year, the festival received 9,079 blood units, compared to 5,225 units in 2015.

According to the Ministry of Health’s statistics, the country collected more than 1.4 million units of blood in 2016, equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the country’s population donating blood. The collected blood has met more than 60 per cent of the country’s emergencies, treatments and preventive demands.

Additionally, the health sector has set a goal to collect at least 1.7 million units of blood in 2017. — VNS