Many people donated blood in the Red Journey campaign in Tuyen Quang province on July 6 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Thousands of people in northernmountainous and central provinces have braved the severe hot weather to takepart in blood donation events of the Red Journey campaign over the past days.
Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee ofnorthern Lang Son province Nguyen Long Hai said this was the fifth time the RedJourney had been held in the locality. This year’s event was organised in notonly Lang Son city but also the border district of Loc Binh, helping to callfor more support for the voluntary blood donation movement.
On July 3 ad 4, over 1,030 blood units werecollected, a record of the programme in Lang Son so far.
In the neighbouring province of Cao Bang, the scorchingheat was also unable to deter many people, mainly from ethnic minority groupslike Tay, Nung, Mong and Dao, from queuing up to wait for their turn to donateblood on July 6.
To attract ethnics, the provincial steeringboard for blood donation mobilisation set up clubs with many ethnic minoritymembers who helped popularise the significance of humanitarian blood donationto residents in remote areas.
As a result, about 430 blood units were donatedat the event in Cao Bang.
On July 7, the Red Journey also took place inthe northern province of Bac Kan, collecting more than 630 blood units as ofthe midday.
Since 2012, the province has organised 10 – 15blood donation events and received 1,500 – 2,200 blood units each year,supplying at least 60 percent of the blood needed for medical treatment at theBac Kan General Hospital.
A similar event has also been taking place in the neighbouring province ofTuyen Quang, drawing the warm response from local residents.
Meanwhile, more than 500 blood units weredonated at an event in Nui Thanh district, the central province of Quang Nam,on July 7. Such activities will continue in many other localities of Quang Namuntil the end of July and are expect to receive over 3,000 blood units.
More than 6,300 blood units have been collectedat 27 blood donation events in Quang Nam since the beginning of 2018.
The same day, the Red Journey campaign also tookplace in Quang Tri province, collecting nearly 500 blood units. This was thethird time it had been held in the central locality.
As of the end of July 6, the Red Journey hadreceived 16,300 blood units in the destinations it visited.
This year’s campaign is hoped to collect atleast 30,000 blood units when it comes to 26 provinces and cities across thecountry from June 13 to July 14.
The Red Journey was initiated by the NationalSteering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation and the National Institute ofHaematology and Blood Transfusion in 2013. It is a nationwidecommunication campaign helping to address the shortage of blood for medicaltreatment in summer.
More than 120,000 blood units were donated inthe programme from 2013 to 2017.-VNA
VNA
