Volunteers at the launch of the fifth (red journey) at the national trig point GPS 0001 in Ca Mau (Photo: cand.com.vn)Ca Mau (VNA) – A torch was burned
at the national trig point GPS 0001 at the cultural park on July 1
to kick off the fifth Hanh Trinh Do (), a nationwide annual blood donation drive.
This was the fourth time the southernmost province
of Ca Mau was selected as the starting destination of the programme in the
southern region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nguyen
Anh Tri, General Director of National Institute of Hematology and Blood
Transfusion (NIHBT), stressed the importance of the event in helping ease blood
shortage during summer and encouraging people engage in the humanitarian
activity.
On July 2, the campaign ran its first blood
donation festival in Ca Mau, before heading to Kien Giang. With support from 80
volunteers, the journey will cover 18 provinces and cities in the southern and
central regions.
As part of the programme, another group of
60 volunteers will embark on its red journey across 10 northern localities
starting July 10. It is scheduled to meet the group from the south in Hanoi on
July 27.
The red journey lasts until July 31 and is
expected to collect at least 45,000 blood units.
Last year, the drive toured 27 cities and
provinces nationwide to provide advice on blood donation and thalassemia – a
genetic blood disease to 500,000 local people and collected 20,790 units of
blood.
Since its inception in 2013, the campaign
has gathered nearly 80,000 units of blood. -VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
