Give a drop of golden blood – give a thousand hopes
On October 26, the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion organized a meeting with volunteer donors of 10 types of platelets with the message “Give a drop of golden blood – give a thousand hopes.”
The event aims to honor and express gratitude to individuals and groups who regularly donate platelets, helping to fully and quickly meet the need for platelet products in emergencies and treatment. It is also an opportunity to meet, share and interact between regular platelet donors and platelet recipient patients.
Dr. Tran Ngoc Que – Director of National Blood Center, Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion awarded certificates of merit to outstanding platelet donors in 2024.
Organized from 2020 until today, the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion welcomes and meets 200 typical voluntary platelet donors every year.
According to Dr. Tran Ngoc Que – Director of the National Blood Center, Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the year 2024 marks particular changes for the Institute in the field of platelet reception. Platelet receipt is very stable and sustainable, with almost no shortage of platelets for treatment; Even in the event of a dengue epidemic, platelet products remain well served.
By the end of October 10, the Institute had received 2024 platelet units from 29,428 donors, an average of 8,372 donations per person. This result shows an increasing trend in the number of platelet donors and the number of donations per person per year.
Delegates compete for platelet donation when they participate in the program to meet typical volunteer platelet donors in 2024.
200 delegates participated in this year’s program, and many people completed a very high number of voluntary platelet donations during the year.
Topping the list is Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu (born 1993), who has made a total of 129 donations, including 116 platelet donations, with 2,024 platelet donations in 13 alone. Mr. Hieu is also honored to to be one of the 100 outstanding blood donors nationwide in 2024.
Since the first day of blood donation “try it once to see for yourself”, 12 years have passed in the blink of an eye, young man Nguyen Van Hieu (31 years old, Hà Nội) perseveres and adheres always involved in voluntary blood donation activities with the desire to bring units of platelets and drops of blood to help illuminate the hope of life and bring happiness to patients and their families.
Mr. Hieu shared, “For the first 3 years, I donated whole blood, then switched to platelet donation. Donating blood is now a habit for me. Even though work is busy, every time I remember that, I will try to organize my work to donate blood. If one day I have to give blood and I can’t go, I feel like I’m missing something. like waking up in the morning and not brushing my teeth.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu received a certificate of merit at the ceremony honoring typical national voluntary blood donors in 2024.
But once, Mr. Hieu surprised his colleagues by temporarily putting aside his work even during working hours to donate blood. “At that time I was working, when I read the news on social media about a patient needing blood, I asked the company to let me go home early. I also invited a few more friends to come to the hospital to donate blood to patients who urgently need it” – recalls Mr. Hieu.
Work is important, but saving people in an emergency is even more important. Mr. Hieu’s actions led his colleagues and friends to admire and appreciate this activity and join him in donating blood. They are willing to participate in regular blood donations and repeat blood donations.
Spread the spirit of blood donation and platelet donation in the community
With nearly 70 blood and platelet donations, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Tuyen (Long Bien, Hanoi) is still present every month at the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. This activity was as familiar to him as visiting a family friend.
Mr. Tuyen first participated in blood donation in 2007 while working at the Gia Thuy Neighborhood People’s Committee, Long Bien District. From then on, he began to discover the benefits and meaning of voluntary blood donation and decided to do more of it. “After donating blood for the first time, I felt the need to do more. Not only was I able to help many people, but I found life much more meaningful” – shared Mr. Tuyen.
Mr. Tuyen and his wife passed on the spirit of volunteerism to their colleagues, friends and family members.
From blood donation points at his home and work agency, Mr. Tuyen proactively searched for information and donated blood at many locations. Sometimes, when he comes across a mobile blood donation point on the road, he stops working and stops to donate blood.
He didn’t think much about what he would receive in return, it simply came from a compassionate heart and the desire to give. For this reason, Mr. Tuyen’s beautiful actions inspired his wife without her realizing it.
Over the past 3 years, Mr. Tuyen and his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha giang know about platelet donation activities. Since then, every month, they always spend time at the Institute to donate platelets. Due to the nature of his work, Mr. Tuyen and his wife can only give platelets on weekends. To date, Mr. Tuyen has donated blood 66 times, including 38 platelet donations. Ms. Ha Giang has also donated blood 40 times, including platelets 28 times.
Mr. Hoang Van Lua (60 years old, Gia Lam, Hanoi) is the oldest person among the 200 typical delegates in 2024.
As the oldest person among 200 typical delegates, Mr. Hoang Van Lua (60 years old, Gia Lam, Hanoi) donated blood and platelets a total of 35 times, including 29 platelet donations.
Even though he started donating blood at the age of 55, his spirit of donating blood and platelets is still admired by the community. He once left the house at 4 a.m. to donate platelets during the Covid-19 outbreak. Or when I heard about the Yagi storm in Landing, fearing that many people living far away would have limited travel, he was determined to donate platelets before the storm returned.
Mr Lua regretted that this is the last year he can donate blood and platelets according to the prescribed age. To take advantage of every opportunity, Mr. Lua quickly donated platelets 15 times in 2024. He believes that young people are still full of passion, continuing to spread the spirit of blood donation and platelet donation for the community to to save money. to the sick.
Unlike whole blood donation, you have to wait almost 3 months to donate again, platelet donation only requires 2-3 weeks, so a person can donate almost 20 times a year. However, as the shelf life and storage period is very short (maximum 5 days), the receipt and preparation of platelets must be based on the needs of hospitals and patients. So, in recent years, the institute has updated its needs forecasts daily on the software and encouraged platelet donors to register before arriving.
