Deputy Head of the Health Ministry’s NationalInstitute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Bach Quoc Khanhsaid the project has provided technical and professional consultationand financial assistance to his institute in building technicalstandards and professional guidance for blood banks and bloodtransfusion services.
According to Khanh, underthe project, a number of training courses on blood quality managementwere held for cadres at the blood transfusion centres and a programme onscreening blood transfusion transmitted diseases was successfullycarried out at more than 20 test labs nationwide.
The project has also mobilised and maintained the number of volunteerblood donors. In 2009, there were more than 500,000 volunteer blooddonors and more than 132,000 professional blood donors and patients’relatives.
Vietnam ’s blood transfusionsector will finalise its blood transfusion system in the 2011-2020period. It will increase the capability for four new blood transfusioncentres at the NIHBT, the Hue Central Hospital , the Cho RayHospital in HCM City and the Can Tho City Health Department andestablish similar centres in the northern province of Dien Bien, thecentral province of Binh Dinh and the Mekong Delta province ofKien Giang .
The sector will also assist theestablishment of the blood transfusion system for the military andpublic security sector and organise blood transfusion services inremote, mountainous and island regions./.