The teacher donated blood 50 times to save lives.

Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Tham, a 43-year-old teacher from Cu Chi (Ho Chi Minh City), has been donating blood since she was a student at a teacher training college.

"Back then, the movement wasn't as vibrant as it is now, and there was a significant shortage of blood in hospitals," Ms. Tham recalled. Having started donating blood at the age of 22, the literature teacher has consistently done so, except for two interruptions to give birth. To date, she has donated blood 50 times to save lives, always with the support of her family.

Once, a colleague at the same school suffered from severe pre-eclampsia and anemia, putting her life in danger. Doctors mobilized blood reserves, but there still wasn't enough. Ms. Ngoc Tham had just donated blood less than 100 days prior to her donation and was advised not to donate again. However, her colleague was in critical condition, and since they still couldn't get enough blood, Ms. Ngoc Tham decided to donate her own blood.

Teacher Ngoc Tham (on the right) and Ms. Vo Kieu Hanh at the ceremony honoring blood donors in Ho Chi Minh City on June 9th.

Teacher Thắm was honored at the ceremony celebrating exemplary blood donors in Ho Chi Minh City on June 9th. Another woman honored was Ms. Võ Kiều Hạnh. Impressing with her healthy appearance and tanned skin, at the age of 55, Ms. Hạnh has donated blood 43 times. This woman from Hóc Môn started participating at the age of 35, leading the women's movement in her hamlet. Not only did she encourage other women in her hamlet, but she also persuaded her entire family to participate in this volunteer work.

"At first, I had to go secretly because everyone objected. Later, seeing that I was helping others while staying healthy, everyone enthusiastically joined in," Ms. Hanh said with a smile. Her mother and siblings have also donated blood many times to save lives, so the whole family has received commendations from the city.

According to Dr. Le Quang Ninh, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross Society, the Humanitarian Blood Donation Center, since its establishment in December 1994, has received more than 2.3 million units of blood from over 2 million people. Some donors have donated regularly more than 80 times.

In particular, the reserve blood donation team of 10,000 people is always ready to donate their blood to patients in urgent need. Nearly 200 people in the rare blood type team are ready to help Rh-negative patients overcome life-threatening situations.

"People need to understand that donating blood is not painful. Blood donation is very safe and does not make donors feel sick or tired, so there's no need to be afraid," shared Dr. Ninh. Blood donors are ordinary people, but to patients, they are heroes. Every year, hundreds of millions of lives are saved worldwide thanks to donated blood for transfusions.