Some 20,000 people took part in the annual “Xuan hong” (Pink spring) blood donation event in Hanoi yesterday, held to cope with blood scarcity around the Tet holidays.

Despite the rain and chilly weather, the event, held at My Dinh Stadium in Tu Liem district, drew people from all walks of life. They came in red clothes and with beaming smiles, and donated some 7,000 units of blood.

“The event not only helps tackle the blood shortage common during and after Tet, when most donors leave the large cities for their hometowns, but also raises people’s awareness of humanitarian blood transfusion and creates a wholesome, useful activity for charitable youths,” said Prof. Nguyen Anh Tri, co-head of the event’s organizing board.

At the event, which also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the humanitarian blood transfusion campaign initiated by the Health Ministry, deputy minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen reported that the campaign has made notable achievements and helps expand the blood transfusion grid nationwide, with more than 80 facilities in the country.

According to the ministry’s statistics, during the past 20 years, the campaign has supplied more than 8 million units of blood to patients.