Vietnam hosts World Blood Donor Day for first time hinh anh 1Giving blood in Mong Cai, Quang Ninh (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam will host the World Blood Donor Day for the first time with the participation of international and domestic delegates, said Le Gia Tien, chief of the secretariat of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign in Hanoi on June 12.

As many as 100 outstanding blood donors will be honoured during a ceremony to be broadcast live in three places in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City on June 14.

The programme with the message “Give blood. Give now. Give often” aims to call on the community to give blood frequently and be willing to give blood in emergency.

A series of activities are being held to mark the occasion, including a cycling programme and a blood donation week campaign themed “Kind-hearted summer” in Hanoi, with the participation of volunteers from Iran, representatives from the EU delegation to Vietnam, and over 500 local volunteers.

An international workshop on blood donation will also be held to exchange experience and promote cooperation in blood donation.

World Blood Donor Day, initiated in 2004, is an occasion to remember Austrian-American Karl Lansteiner, who discovered blood groups and made blood transfusions possible. 

Vietnam has observed the event annually since 2008.-VNA
VNA