Noble gestures

(Baonghean) -In recent years, the voluntary blood donation movement in our province has attracted more and more groups and individuals to participate. The amount of blood collected each year is higher than the previous year, partly meeting the needs of emergency services and treatment in hospitals.

Pham Thi Nghia, class K52 Law, Vinh University, who has donated blood 7 times, shared about her volunteer work: “National Voluntary Blood Donation Day is one of the meaningful social activities that has been implemented since 19 years ago. We, students, are very happy to participate in promoting this day as well as directly donating blood, because this is a useful work, showing the kindness of one person for all. Our greatest wish is that everyone has the right awareness about blood donation.”

Vinh University students participate in voluntary blood donation.

With enthusiasm and a noble wish to share blood to help people in critical condition, many individuals and families have participated in blood donation; some people do not hesitate to participate in blood donation dozens of times. A typical example is the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, in Dong Vinh ward (Vinh city): Before the day of voluntary blood donation for all people, his small but very warm house was bustling with family "meetings" to assign tasks to each person, who participated, who encouraged. Over the past 10 years, blood donation and encouraging blood donation have become familiar activities for his family.

In his small notebook, Mr. Loi meticulously records each time his family members donate blood. From 2000 to now, 4 family members have donated blood 40 times, of which, he himself, at the age of over 60, has donated blood 10 times. He confided: “In the past, I was a soldier, so I am more aware of donating blood to save wounded soldiers and comrades. My family and everyone will continue to donate blood until the medical staff does not allow it anymore”… Mr. Loi still uses his family as an example, to encourage people to understand that “having money may not save a sick person, but giving just one drop of blood can save a person.”

The voluntary blood donation movement in our province is growing with the active participation of many units and localities. In 2012, the whole province collected over 10,000 units of blood (4 units equal 1 liter) donated by people and in 2013 it is expected to be 14,000 units. To make blood donation more effective, not only participating in blood donation in batches, some units and localities have built reserve voluntary blood donation clubs (ready to respond to blood shortages) attracting many participants, typically the Youth Union of Vinh University.

In 2012, the School Youth Union organized 4 concentrated voluntary blood donation campaigns and collected nearly 1,000 units of blood; in the first blood donation campaign in early March 2013, over 500 students of the school participated and 252 units of blood were added to the blood bank of the Provincial Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center. Mr. Le Minh Giang - Deputy Secretary of the School Youth Union, Chairman of the Student Association of Vinh University said: "In the past time, students of Vinh University have regularly and actively participated in blood donation to share their blood to help sustain the lives of many disadvantaged patients. In response to this National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, the School Youth Union continues to propagate and organize for union members and young people to perform noble deeds, sharing the source of life. The Vinh University Volunteer Blood Donation Club always has dozens of people ready, hundreds of people participating".

Doctors and nurses of the Friendship General Hospital participate in voluntary blood donation. Photo: TC

Doctor Nguyen Hoang Cat, Deputy Director of the Provincial Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, said: If in the past, the voluntary blood donation movement was mainly composed of youth union members and only focused on urban areas; now, with the attention, direction, active activities, and investment of resources from the Provincial Voluntary Blood Donation Steering Committee and especially the response of the people, the number of blood donors has increased, and the area with blood donors has expanded. The Red Cross Associations of districts, cities, and towns have actively implemented many propaganda measures, mobilizing the participation of many sectors and the response of all classes of people.

Typically, in the mountainous district of Con Cuong, in 2012, the voluntary blood donation movement of the district had the result of 300 units of blood; in addition, there were also districts of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghia Dan ... Learning from the experience of previous years when blood donation campaigns were organized massively, with too many people causing a lot of blood to accumulate, making it difficult to preserve and affecting the quality of blood, this year the Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation of Nghe An implemented the motto of 365 days a year, every day is Voluntary Blood Donation Day for all people. That is, the Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation has specifically assigned units and localities to donate blood according to the timetable and work schedule, avoiding blood shortages during Tet and summer.

Thanh Chung