HÀ NỘI — Nearly 1,000 people, mainly students and youngsters, attended the main event of the Chủ nhật Đỏ 2019 (Red Sunday) campaign in Hà Nội on Sunday.

The Red Sunday campaign organised by Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper, the National Steering Committee on Traffic Safety and the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusions (NIHBT) since 2008 is effort to ease blood supply shortages in hospitals throughout the country during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. 

Speaking at the event, National Assembly Deputy Chairman Uông Chu Lưu called on leaders, managers and communities to ease difficulties for the health sector and patients by donating blood or organising blood donation events.

“Besides the increasing demand for health care and the need to apply modern techniques for treatment, blood demand for emergency and treatment still is one of largest pressures on the health sector,” said Lưu. “However, this pressure can be shared by the community.”

Lưu said millions of people in Việt Nam have donated blood over the past 20 years. According to a report by the National Steering Committee for Mobilising Voluntary Blood Donation, more than 1.4 million people donated blood in 2018, meeting 75 per cent of the country’s blood demand for emergencies and treatment.

Miss Việt Nam 2018 Trần Tiểu Vy donates blood at the event. — VNS Photo Thanh Hai

“I deeply admire people who are voluntary donors, regular donors and those have donated blood in emergency cases or mobilised others to donate,” said Lưu. “Many leaders and managers have directly donated blood, setting a good example for the community.”

“Thanks to that, tens of thousands of patients across the country are given hope to live, to return to their beloved families for Tết,” said Lưu. “I appreciate the value of this programme, which agencies and organisations across the country – especially Tiền Phong newspaper, the NIHBT and the National Traffic Safety Committee – have created for the community.”

Tiền Phong newspaper’s editor in chief Lê Xuân Sơn said blood collection from Red Sunday events increased markedly over the past five years, from 8,419 units in 2014 to 47,766 units in 2018. More than 123,000 blood units were collected over the past 10 Red Sunday events.

Miss Việt Nam 2018 Trần Tiểu Vy and many famous singers and celebrities also donated blood at the event and called on the community to do the same.

The one-month event started on December 26, 2018, and involves 70 events in 39 provinces and cities across the country, including the main festival in Hà Nội. Many localities have registered to collect thousands of blood units such as Hà Nội (6,000), HCM City (3,000) and Đắk Lắk (3,800). — VNS