People donate blood in HCM City. — VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — The HCM City chapter of the Việt Nam Red Cross Society yesterday (Nov 19) began a blood donation campaign to meet the expected spike in the requirement for blood during the year-end holidays.  

The month-long campaign expects to receive 60,000 units from voluntary donors, said Trần Trường Sơn, its chairman said.

Since the beginning of this year the Red Cross’ HCM City Blood Donation Centre has collected 302,888 units of blood, or 91 per cent of this year’s target.

More than 260,000 people donated blood.
Phù Chí Dũng, director of the HCM City Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, said there is usually a big shortfall during the New Year and Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays as the number of emergency situations increases sharply and nobody donates blood.

Trần Thị Như Tố, director of the centre, said university students are the major voluntary donors.

For the campaign, the centre is calling on 10,000 workers at State agencies as well as the general community to donate blood, she said.

A transfusion centre at Chợ Rẫy, one of the major hospitals in HCM City, warned it would face a shortage of blood in the last two months of this year and early in the new year.

The hospital had hoped to receive 132,000 units from donors this year, but only managed 112,000 units. — VNS