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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Many people are now planning their holiday trip in the coming extended Easter holiday. However, there will be people who are ill or injured and in urgent need of life-saving blood transfusions. To ensure sufficient blood supply, the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) has appealed to healthy people staying in Hong Kong during the Easter Holiday to give blood. The demand for blood in recent years has continued to increase significantly as the local population grows and ages.
As a gesture of appreciation, donors giving blood during the Easter period, from April 4-15, will be presented with a useful alarm clock (complete with time, date, alarm, temperature and lighting functions) (see photo attached). For service hours of blood donor centres during the Easter holiday, people can call the hotline at 2710 1234 or visit the website (http://www.ha.org.hk/rcbts).
People aged from 16 to 65, weighing more than 41kgs and healthy are eligible to be a blood donor. Male donors aged 18 or above can give blood every three months and female donors every four months. Youths aged between 16 and 17 can donate blood every six months.
Every minute counts in saving lives and the BTS hopes that people will spare some time during this Easter holiday to donate blood. The donation may save a life.
Ends/Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:45
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