HCM CITY — The American Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (AmCham Việt Nam) helped organise blood donations in HCM City yesterday during the World Blood Donor Day 2017, initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

AmCham, together with the British Business Group Việt Nam, is working with the HCM City Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion and the HCM City Humanitarian Blood Donation Centre to carry out the donor campaign at seven locations from July 12-21.

The first day saw 134 people donating a total of 171.2 blood units or 42,800 ml of blood. The seven-day event is expected to attract more than 1,000 blood donors.

Mark Gillin, vice chairman of AmCham Việt Nam, who donated blood for the third time under the AmCham programme, said: “I want to do something good for the community.”

“When we are strong, we need to help those who are weak because some day we will be weak and we will need the help of the strong,” he told Việt Nam News.

In Việt Nam, traffic accidents pose the most dangerous threat.

According to the National Transport Safety Board, more than 4,800 traffic accidents occurred in the first three months of the year, killing more than 2,100 people and injuring more than 3,800.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The situation has generated substantial healthcare demands and the need for frontline treatment. Among the measures, blood transfusions are an important component of emergency healthcare.

With the theme “What can you do?” and the message “Give blood. Give now. Give often”, World Blood Donor Day aims to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products. It also pays tribute to voluntary blood donors who help save lives.

Though the while country received 1.2 million blood units through many donation programmes last year, the current supply of donated blood meets only 66 per cent of the need nationwide, according to the institute. — VNS