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Following is the speech by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joseph W P Wong, at the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service's Annual Donor Award Ceremony 2002 today (May 14):

Mrs Tung, Mr Yang, Mr Lo, Dr So, Dr Lin, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured and pleased to be invited to join you today at the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service's Annual Donor Award Ceremony. This is a highly significant occasion because it provides the opportunity to acknowledge publicly the invaluable contribution made by all of you, the regular blood donors, to the success of Hong Kong's blood donation programme. That success is highlighted by the fact that Hong Kong is one of the few places in Asia to have achieved and maintained self-sufficiency in its blood supply, entirely through voluntary non-remunerated donations.

The target of self-sufficiency in the blood supply has been a key objective of the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. However, to achieve that target it is necessary to forecast and predict the ever-growing demand for blood as Hong Kong's population increases and as the demands for blood change in the light of developments in medicine and hospital treatments. The advent of transplant therapy, for example, has meant a significant increase in the requirement for blood for transfusion as part of the treatment process.

In the past year, the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service collected 193,408 units of blood from its donors. That equates to around 700 units of blood for use in the SAR's hospitals each day. Not only has the Blood Transfusion Service been able to achieve that volume, but it has done so in a timely manner, smoothing out the peaks and troughs of holiday periods and providing enough supply for emergencies. It has also managed to minimize the amount of waste by processing elements of donated blood into vital and valuable blood products, which in turn can be used to save and improve patients' lives through specialist treatments and therapies. In short, the whole process from donor to transfusion and treatment, is a complex exercise in planning and logistics where safety, quality and timeliness need to be guaranteed at all times.

And, simply, none of that can be achieved without the opening contribution from you, our honoured blood donors. Last year, around 145,000 public-spirited individuals volunteered to give blood in Hong Kong. The Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service's records show that a remarkable 12,000 of our donors have given blood over 25 times, among whom 109 have achieved over 100 donations and five have donated more than 200 times. When faced with statistics such as these, it is fitting to describe Hong Kong as a caring and civilized society, and one which can be envied by many other countries and regions. So let me take this opportunity to offer my highest tribute of respect to all of you on the Honour Roll.

From my professional perspective, it is gratifying to know that some 20 of our honoured donors, who will be receiving awards for in excess of 100 donations today, are from the civil service. Indeed, the two recipients of the awards for the largest numbers of donations are both civil servants. This really makes me proud of being a member of the civil service. The civil service takes root in society and is dedicated to serving the community. We spare no efforts to support the cause of common good. Last year, the mobile blood collection sites set up at Government offices received 6,460 donations, which accounted for eight per cent of the total mobile teams' collections. Besides, there are also many civil servants who prefer to make regular donations privately at Blood Donor Centres. "It is more blessed to give than to receive", I will encourage more colleagues to come forward to help others by giving their precious blood.

This year represents a highly significant anniversary and milestone for blood donors in Hong Kong. It marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment, by the Hong Kong Red Cross, of its blood collection service. In 1952, when the voluntary non-remunerated blood collection programme first started, the total collected in that first year was 400 units, comparing with the 200,000 units in the past few years. The Red Cross can be justifiably proud of celebrating this particular 50th anniversary, as indeed, can the Blood Transfusion Service, as today's successor to that early pioneering effort.

Having recognized the remarkable contribution of you all over the past year, it is also important that we understand the need to keep up the effort for the years to come. The demand for blood is likely to increase and the challenge for the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service for the future is to ensure that its planning and preparations are always ahead of the demand, without ever compromising any aspect of safety or quality. That is the standard of service the citizens of Hong Kong have come to expect and deserve and that is why all of us here today, and the hundreds of your fellow donors who have not yet achieved awards, must continue to do our best to help the less fortunate members of our society and to encourage others to join us.

Thank you.

End/Tuesday, May 14, 2002

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