About 156,000 people gave blood donations and 163,600 units of blood were collected in Guangzhou between January and May this year, a 21.7% decrease compared to the same period last year, according to Xia Haihui, an official from the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission. Xia calls on people to donate blood as the supply of safe blood is at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical workers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University donate blood on March 12th, 2020. (Photo: Li Xihua)

June 14th marked the 17th World Blood Donor Day, and the theme of this year's campaign is 'safe blood saves lives' with the slogan 'Give blood and make the world a healthier place'.

China's Law of Blood Donation, which came into effect on October 1, 1998, encourages voluntary blood donation. Only about 10,000 people donated blood in Guangzhou in 1998, while 407,500 people did so during 2019. Between 1998 and 2019, 5.46 million people donated 7.68 million units of blood (1,536 tons) in the city.

Wu Yandong, a regular blood donor in Guangzhou, has donated blood 219 times over the past 21 years. The blood he donated amounts to 86,400ml, which is about the total blood volume of 20 50kg adults. In December 2007, Wu joined the blood donation volunteer team established by the Guangzhou Blood Center. As of now, he has completed over 5,000 hours of voluntary service and won numerous awards including the national golden award for voluntary blood donation.

Residents donate blood at the Guangzhou Blood Center on June 14th, the World Blood Donor Day. (Photo: Monica Liu)

Ai Wenxiu, a civil servant from Guangzhou's Haizhu district, started to donate blood regularly in 1999 and has made 52 blood donations, donating a total of 10,400ml blood. She also became a blood donation volunteer in 2012 and has completed over 3,300 hours of voluntary service.

Donated blood has saved the lives of countless people, and continues to save lives every day. Luo Bing, a doctor from the Blood Transfusion Department of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, has a lot of first-hand experience of lives being saved by donated blood.

On February 14th, 2019, a woman in childbirth, from Maoming suffered from amniotic fluid embolism, postpartum haemorrhage and cardiac arrest. She was admitted to Luo Bing's hospital and treated for over 40 days. During this period, with the help of Guangzhou Blood Center, she was given blood transfusions of 23,750ml which is about the total blood volume donated by more than 110 donors. She was rescued from the jaws of death.

A staff member deals with the donated blood at the Guangzhou Blood Center on June 14th, the World Blood Donor Day. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

On June 9th, 2020, Li Li, who was over 30 weeks into her pregnancy, displayed unbearable abdominal pain and bleeding. She was sent to Luo Bing's hospital and diagnosed as having placenta previa accompanied by hemorrhage. She needed surgery and a blood transfusion immediately. Due to insufficient blood supply, the hospital contacted the Guangzhou Blood Center that night and fetched 800ml blood to save Li Li and her baby boy.

Cui Zhuanqing, a female driver who has worked for the Sunshine Bus Company in Guangzhou for 16 years, suffered appalling burns all over her body last July due to an explosion caused by a gas leak at home. Cui received three-month long treatment in hospital and had received blood transfusions of about 84,000ml by the time she was discharged from hospital. According to the doctor, that was roughly equivalent to replacing all the blood in her body over 20 times over and was about the blood volume donated by over 420 people, assuming each of whom donates 200ml blood.

Author | Monica

Editor | Jerry