Thousands of people join Red Spring Festival 2018

The event saw the attendance of Nguyen Thuy Anh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs; Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society and Permanent Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation; Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister of Health, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation, as well as representatives from other sectors. A thousand volunteers also attended the festival.

Addressing the event, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Bach Quoc Khanh highlighted that the eighth Red Spring Festival is the largest blood donation event that the institute has launched since 2008. The event helps to ease the blood shortage after the Lunar New Year festival (Tet). Over the past time, the program has attracted 190,000 participants donating 60,300 blood units.

Especially, this year's program has been organized in many places in Hanoi so that volunteers could easily join the event.

Meanwhile, Head of the Hanoi Red Cross Society Nguyen Sy Truong said that the program contributes to raising public awareness of the importance and the meaningful act of blood donation and expand this noble deed in the society.

"Different from other Spring festivals organized nationwide, people taking part in the Red Spring Festival do not want to pray for themselves, but donate part of their blood to save other people's life", said Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister of Health and Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation.

Under the theme "A drop of blood donated saves a life", this year's program, held from March 3 to 11, was expected to attract 15,000 people and collect 8,000 blood units for patients.

On the sidelines of the event, interesting activities, such as presenting gifts to patients, music festival and more, were also held.

(Source: PANO)