Teacher donated blood 50 times to save lives

Teacher Le Thi Ngoc Tham in Cu Chi (HCMC), 43 years old, has been donating blood since she was a student of education.

"At that time, the movement was not as vibrant as it is now, and there was still a shortage of blood in hospitals," Ms. Tham recalled. Having started donating blood since she was 22 years old, the Literature teacher has always maintained it regularly, 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, which was life-threatening. The doctor mobilized the blood reserve but it was still not enough. Ms. Ngoc Tham had just donated blood for less than 100 days, so she was advised not to continue donating. Her colleague was in critical condition and still could not mobilize enough blood, so she decided to continue donating her own blood.

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

Teacher Tham was honored at the ceremony to honor outstanding blood donors in Ho Chi Minh City on June 9. Another woman honored was Ms. Vo Kieu Hanh. Impressive with her healthy appearance and honey-colored skin, at the age of 55, Ms. Hanh has shared her blood 43 times. The woman in Hoc Mon started participating at the age of 35, leading the women's movement in the hamlet. Not only did she mobilize the women in the hamlet, she also convinced her whole family to participate in this volunteer work.

"At first, I had to go secretly because everyone opposed it. Then, seeing that I could help others and still stay healthy, everyone enthusiastically joined in," Ms. Hanh smiled. Her mother and siblings have also donated blood many times to save lives, so the whole family has received certificates of merit from the city.

Dr. Le Quang Ninh, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross Society, said that since its establishment in December 1994, the Blood Donation Center has received more than 2.3 million units of blood from more than 2 million people. There are people who donate regularly and consistently over 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 team are ready to help patients with Rh- blood overcome life-threatening situations.

"People need to understand that donating blood is not painful. Donating blood is very safe and does not make the donor feel sick or tired, so there is no need to be afraid," Dr. Ninh shared. Blood donors are normal people, but to patients, they are heroes. Every year, hundreds of millions of people around the world are saved thanks to donated blood for transfusion.