Foreigners respond to blood donation campaign amid COVID-19 outbreak
Wayne Worrel, a British expatriate who has lived in Vietnam for years, joined his peers at a blood donation spot at 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen street, Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district, on March 18 noon.
Wayne Worrel donates his blood at a collection spot on Luong Ngoc Quyen street, Hanoi. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Worrel)
Hanoi (VNA) - Wayne Worrel, aBritish expatriate who has lived in Vietnam for years, joined his peers at ablood donation spot at 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen street, Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district,on March 18 noon.
“Many people are scaredto donate blood (due to COVID-19) which is urgently needed as blood banks arein short supply. It is now our turn to come together and help each other. Notonly are you helping someone who needs it, you will also receive a few littlegifts of thanks,” the man wrote in a Facebookgroup for expats living in Hanoi on March 13.
Worrel said he had visited the blood collectionspot earlier but he saw no one around. He then asked a nurse to take a photo ofhim and posted it on Facebook to call for public support.
The man told Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper that hehas lived in Vietnam for 10 years and he should do something for the country,especially in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Iknow you are afraid of the virus, but life goes on. Let’s imagine someone hasan accident and there is no blood left," said Worrel.
Also present at theblood collection spot, Josept from the UK said he learned about the eventthrough Facebook, and shared it with the hope of raising public awareness.
Jack, a teacher from NewYork who has lived in Vietnam for five years, said his friend introduced him tothe campaign, adding although each individual contributes only a small part,their joint efforts would bring about huge values.
Since the epidemic brokeout in Hanoi, blood collection has dropped sharply to only about 60 units eachday, as compared with 1,200 units in February.
According to Bach Quoc Khanh,head of the National Hematology and Blood Transfusion, this is the second timesince the Lunar New Year festival, blood collection has been hurdled due to theepidemic.
As of late March 18, Vietnam had confirmed 76COVID-19 cases, of them 16 have completely recovered./.
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Vietnamese Consul General in Fukuoka Vu Chi Mai highlighted the growing demand for Vietnamese workers in Kyushu, especially in Fukuoka, Oita, and Saga prefectures. Currently, the region employs about 35,000 Vietnamese manual workers and over 5,000 IT engineers.
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The VNA delegation, led by General Director Vu Viet Trang, actively participated in the event, engaging in both professional and diplomatic activities.
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Granma and the VNA have great potential for cooperation, especially in sharing content regularly, so that VNA products are published on Granma platforms and vice versa, thereby helping Cuban and Vietnamese people access true information and gain a deep understanding of each other's country and people.
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The strategic product, managed and operated by the Vietnam News Agency Digital Media Centre (VNA Media), is an official channel for popularising the Party and State’s information and documents as well as delivering mainstream and trustworthy news to both domestic and international audiences through various kinds of multimedia formats.
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Wayne Worrel donates his blood at a collection spot on Luong Ngoc Quyen street, Hanoi. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Worrel) 
