The event organized by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Mobilization, aims to provide information and counseling on voluntary blood donation and thalassemia prevention to 1 million people nationwide, while collecting at least 120,000 units of blood. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, the “Red Drops from Ho Chi Minh City” program targets the collection of at least 5,000 units of blood during its launch week and more than 30,000 units during the peak month of the campaign.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Bui Minh Thanh, said that Ho Chi Minh City was the birthplace of Vietnam's voluntary blood donation movement in the 1990s. Since the establishment of the city’s Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Mobilization in October 1994, the city has encouraged nearly 5 million people to donate blood, resulting in the collection of more than 4 million units of blood.
On this occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Mobilization presented the “For the Humanitarian Cause” commemorative medal to 10 individuals; honored 12 outstanding blood donors selected to participate in the national recognition program; awarded certificates of merit from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to 39 exemplary individuals; recognized 32 families with a tradition of blood donation; and presented gifts to disadvantaged patients living with thalassemia.
To mark World Blood Donor Day on June 14, 2026, Dr. Angela Pratt, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, together with her colleagues, participated in a blood donation drive at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. Dr. Angela Pratt has donated blood more than 10 times in Australia and made her first blood donation in Vietnam in 2023.
