The 19th Xuan Hong (Red Spring) Festival officially opened in Hanoi on February 3, with organisers aiming to collect 10,000 units of blood over the course of the campaign.

Illustrative image.

The event is jointly organised by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) and the Vietnam Youth Association for Blood Donation Advocacy. It is set to run for 10 consecutive days, from February 27 to March 8, at multiple venues across the capital.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NIHBT Director Assoc. Prof. Dr Nguyen Ha Thanh noted that since 2010, the festival has been selected by the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation as one of the country’s key annual campaigns in the field. It has since been implemented nationwide.

Beyond supplying substantial volumes of blood for emergency care and treatment, the festival has established a structured, professional, safe and civilised model for mobilising donors, which has been widely adopted by other agencies and organisations. Over the past 18 years, it has collected nearly 120,000 units of blood in the capital alone.

Speaking about preparations for this year’s event, Trinh Xuan Thuy, head of the Vietnam Youth Association for Blood Donation Advocacy, said that in the run-up to and immediately after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, hundreds of volunteers organised 324 direct communication teams at university gates, bus stations and public parks.

More than 20,000 promotional posts about the festival were shared online. Prior to the opening ceremony, over 12,000 people had registered to donate blood.

Hua Dinh Loc, a Hanoi resident, said this was his 13th donation. He began giving blood as a first-year university student and has continued ever since, donating whenever eligible.

“Donating blood helps me monitor my health and gives me the sense that I can make a small contribution to helping patients,” he said, adding that he has the full support of his family, friends and colleagues.

Another local donor, Thanh Hien, shared that upon seeing post-Tet calls for blood groups O and A, she simply thinks that her very small part could become hope for someone else.

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