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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) holds a celebration event and ceremony to mark the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) today (June 14) at the Skylight Atrium, Ma On Shan Plaza with the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, as the officiating guest. Pop singer Kelly Chen was present as the WBDD Ambassador and radio host Siu Yee also acted as the master of ceremonies of the event.
At the ceremony, Dr Ko Wing-man said the local statistics indicated 2.2 per cent of maternal patients requiring transfusion, which was comparable to developed countries in Europe and America. However, still some women lose their lives because of a lack of timely access to safe blood due to insufficient voluntary non-remunerated blood donors in developing countries. "We all have the responsibility to protect our women who give birth to our offsprings. I sincerely ask you to donate blood regularly. I also encourage those who have never done it to take action as soon as you can. If more people are willing to donate twice a year or more, the territory's blood supply will become more stabilised," pleaded Dr Ko.
In delivering his speech, the Chairman of Blood Transfusion Service Governing Committee (BTSGC), Mr Philip Tsai, said, "The focus of this year's WBDD is safe blood for saving mothers. It aims at arousing the world's awareness about why timely access to safe blood and blood products is essential for all countries as part of a comprehensive approach to preventing maternal deaths."
Apart from Kelly Chen sharing her donation experience and making a blood donation appeal, a blood recipient who needed blood transfusion and her attending obstetrician, Consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kwong Wah Hospital, Dr Lau Wai-lam, were both present to bring out the main theme of this year's WBDD through their sharing. Besides, a regular blood donor with nearly 50 donations recounted her donation story in order to motivate more people to give blood.
As the FIFA World Cup has just begun, BTS will roll out its World Cup Blood Donation Promotion Month tomorrow (June 15) until July 13. The Kitchee Football Team, represented by its caption Lo Kwan-yee and member Tsang Kam-to, took part in the kick-off ceremony of the Promotion Month. Donors who give blood during the mentioned period will receive a World Cup Donation commemorative badge and a GIVE bandage gift pack. For further details, please visit BTS website www.ha.org.hk/rcbts or Facebook Fan page.
Other guests at the ceremony include Hong Kong Red Cross Chairman, Mr Vincent Lo; Red Cross Director, Mr Luke Wong; Member of BTSGC, Mrs Irene Yau; and Service Director (Primary & Community Health Care) of Kowloon Central Cluster, Dr Hobby Cheung.
Ends/Saturday, June 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:18
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