A blood donation festival was held in Hanoi on July 25 as part of the “Hanh trinh do” (Red Journey) campaign, with a hope of collecting 2,000 units of blood.

A number of activities were organised during the festival, including a programme to review the 2015 Red Journey.

Before arriving in the capital, 120 volunteers to the journey had stopped at 21 cities and provinces to encourage locals to join the drive and raise their awareness of thalassaemia – a genetic blood disorder that can lead to heart failure and liver problems.

The journey has so far received 17,937 units of blood, which is expected to be 20,000 after July 25.

Particularly, the campaign had come to Ly Son island district in central Quang Ngai province, which helped locals build a bank of blood to serve the sea and island heath work.

Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Nguyen Anh Tri said the programme received warm response from localities, departments and the community.

The 2015 one-month Red Journey drew 120 volunteers to tour 22 cities and provinces across the country.-VNA