The first fixed blood donation site is located at Hoan Kiem Health Centre – No 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen street in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. (Photo: nihbt.org.vn)

The site opens daily and is expected to make it more convenient for people to donate blood regularly, said NIHBT Director Bach Quoc Khanh.

He said that the institute’s blood collection had mainly taken place at mobile donation sites, which resulted in irregular reception of blood and blood shortages, especially during summer vacation and Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays when students – accounting for a high proportion of blood donors – leave the city.

Most of the donated blood was from universities, colleges, companies and organisations.

In Hanoi, only 40 percent of blood donors keep donating blood again, Khanh said.

The out-of-hospital blood donation site is expected to be easy for people to access as well as help them form a habit on regular medical check-up as blood donors could be offered testing packages as gifts when arriving on site.

The NIHBT and Hanoi’s Health Department plans to open other fixed blood donation sites in other districts including Dong Da and Thanh Xuan./.

VNF/VNA