The 14th Red Spring Festival - the year's biggest blood donation event – kicked off at a ceremony in Hanoi on February 28 with the theme “Safe blood donation – Don’t be afraid of COVID-19”.
Young people donate their blood
In his opening remarks, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Bach Quoc Khanh, who is head of the festival’s organizing board, said that the festival has been held annually since 2008 to address blood shortages after the lunar New Year holiday, and gradually changed public awareness of blood donation.
After 13 editions, the festival has collected over 85,000 blood units and become the annual biggest blood donation event.
Khanh took the occasion to express his gratitude for donators nationwide.
The 14th edition is taking place from March 1-7 at the NIHBT headquarters, and three fixed places - 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen in Hoan Kiem district, 132 Quan Nhan in Thanh Xuan district, and Valley 122 of Lang Street in Dong Da district.
The organizing board expects to receive over 4,000 blood units during this year’s festival, which then will be allocated to nearly 180 hospitals and medical establishments of 28 provinces and cities in the northern region.
It has also made thorough preparations to welcome donors so as to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control as recommended by the World Health Organisation and the Health Ministry./.
VNA
