Blood Donation Festival Widely Responded

About 15,000 units of blood, or 3,750 liters, were given at the Red Sunday Blood Donating Festival in 18 cities and provinces in Vietnam. However, Hanoi only contributed 1,000 units yesterday. (1 unit = 250ml). This year marked the seventh edition of Red Sunday, annually co-organized by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) and Tien Phong – Pioneer newspaper, with the participation of mostly young people, including students, across the nation. The 2015 blood drive saw NIHBT receive around 3,000 units of blood more than the 2014 Red Sunday, said Nguyen Anh Tri, head of the institute. The event was held to prepare blood for the Lunar New Year festival, which arrives in three weeks, when hospitals need extra blood for treatment and emergency aid. The 2014 Red Sunday was organized in ten cities and provinces across the nation, with around 12,000 units of blood donated. In total, around 200,000 units were given through all events of blood drives in 2014. (Tuoi Tre Jan 26)