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Give blood, save lives
Everyone knows that blood is the source of vitality. However, not everyone realises that it could also be a gift of life.
The Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, said this when officiating at the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Annual Donor Award Ceremony today (Tuesday).
The awarded donors have given blood for at least 25 times in Hong Kong.
Mrs Chan said community response to blood donation had been positive throughout these years: donated blood increased from 50,000 units in 1973 to over 172,000 units in 1994.
The proportion of local Chinese blood donors has grown during the same period from 71 per cent to 97 per cent.
"These donors are also becoming more evenly spread among people from all walks of life, indicating general acceptance of voluntary blood donation as a civic duty," she said.
The Chief Secretary showed appreciation to the regular blood donors for their generosity.
"You also play an active and important role in spreading the message of how by giving blood we can give others a new lease of life, in dispelling misconceptions and unfounded fears, as well as in giving the subtle encouragement that potential donors will need." she said.
Mrs Chan added that the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service strove to safeguard the recipients of blood products against possible infection.
"It is reassuring to know that all blood samples collected are carefully screened against a host of known transfusion transmissible diseases to guarantee a high standard of medical care for the patients in Hong Kong."
End/Tuesday, May 9, 1995