Thousands of people, mostly students and volunteers, gathered at Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Hanoi to participate in a blood donation festival on Sunday.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình (second right) visits donors at the Red Sunday blood donation festival in Hà Nội on Sunday.

The event is part of the 10th "Chủ Nhật Đỏ” (Red Sunday) series that is taking place in 31 provinces and cities nationwide from December 15, 2017 to January 31 this year.

The event was jointly organised by Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper, the National Steering Committee on Traffic Safety (NSCTS) and the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusions.

Speaking at the event, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình highlighted the outstanding achievements of the blood donation mobilisation movement in recent years in Việt Nam, while praising Tiền Phong newspaper and the contribution of volunteers and donors.

“The Party and Government of Việt Nam have paid a lot of attention to people’s health care activities. Many efforts and resources have been invested in the health care sector,” said Bình.

“This year, 31 provinces and cities have registered to participate in the event and expect to collect at least 35,000 blood units in order to treat patients during the Lunar new year (Tết) period. As a result, thousands of patients across the country will have the chance to return to their beloved families, instead of waiting for blood at hospitals when the Tết is approaching,” said Bình.

The deputy PM noted that the situation of blood shortages for emergencies and treatment still occurs in Việt Nam during the summer and Tết periods. Also, the demand for blood is increasing due to the development of new medical techniques that require high amounts of blood, such as tissue transplants, heart and kidney surgeries or treatment of blood diseases, along with the large number of injuries caused by traffic accidents.

“For example, in 2017 Việt Nam reported over 20,000 traffic accidents, which killed 8,200 people and injured 17,000 others. The number of patients needing blood for emergencies and treatment is still high and has put considerable pressure on the health sector,” said Bình.

“I hope that leaders, managers of organisations, and enterprises will always be willing to share difficulties with patients, especially those who need blood transfusions, by doing things, including practical actions such as organising or joining in blood donation events like the Red Sunday festival,” added Bình.

Tiền Phong newspaper editor-in-chief Lê Xuân Sơn said that the festival aimed to ease serious blood shortages in hospitals, resulting from increases in traffic accidents and the declining number of blood donors prior to Tết. It also helped strengthening the awareness about voluntary blood donation movements in Việt Nam.

“The amount of blood collected from Red Sunday events have increased remarkably, from 96 units at the first event in Hà Nội in 2009 to 32,000 units last year in 25 provinces and cities nationwide,” said Sơn.

“In 2017, for the first time, hospitals were provided enough blood for treatment and to store to meet the demand during the Tết period,” said Sơn.

Sơn added that more than 70,000 blood units were collected from voluntary donors over the past nine Red Sunday events.  

Since the launch of the voluntary blood donation movement in Việt Nam, tens of millions of people have donated blood over the past 20 years. In 2017, the health sector collected 1.2 million units of blood, accounting for 70 per cent of the country’s blood demand, according to the health ministry. — VNS