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Following is a speech by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E K Yeoh, at the Annual Donor Award Ceremony 2001 at Furama Hotel today (May 15):

Mrs Tung, The Hon T L Yang, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to attend this ceremony and to pay warm tribute to some of our most civic-minded citizens in Hong Kong who regularly and selflessly give blood to save life. Their invaluable contributions have made Hong Kong to stand proud as one of the few places in Asia to achieve self-sufficiency in blood supply through voluntary non-remunerated donations.

Hong Kong needs at least 700 units of blood for use in its hospitals every day. In spite of the remarkable advances and breakthroughs in the medical science in recent years, there is unfortunately no substitute for human blood. In addition, blood cannot be stored for a long period of time. Whole blood and red blood cells could only be kept for 42 days and platelet concentrate has an even shorter storage period of 5 days. In order to maintain an adequate level of stock of blood, we need at least 700 blood donors to come forward each day.

Fortunately, we have many public-spirited citizens like you in the community who regularly give blood and promptly respond to emergency appeals in times when specific blood types run low, such as during the summer holidays. Last year, over 155 000 individuals have come forward to give blood on nearly 190 000 occasions. According to the record of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, some 2 242 people in Hong Kong have given blood over 50 times. Among them, 106 have achieved over 100 donations and two of them have given blood for more than 200 times. Considering the fact that a person can only donate blood for up to four times a year, it takes at least 12 years to achieve over 50 donations. The contributions of regular donors like you made to our society are truly remarkable.

With a growing population and longer life expectancy, the demand for blood is estimated to increase by 10 per cent over the next ten years. It is important for us to keep up our efforts to encourage more people to donate blood in Hong Kong. As such, the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service has an ongoing programme to encourage new donors, especially those of our younger generation, to come forward to give blood. While we know that we can count on your continuous support to come forward, we are hopeful that your gallant action will also serve to inspire others to follow your shining examples and become a donor.

It is now my honour and privilege to present the awards to our loyal and dedicated donors.

Thank you.

End/Tuesday, May 15, 2001

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