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Days before the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, founder of Shincheonji Church and Korean War Veteran, Mr. Man Hee Lee, announced that more than 4,000 church members who recovered from COVID-19 are willing to donate their plasma in an effort to develop a global antibody treatment for the virus.
"As Jesus sacrificed himself with his blood for life, we hope that the blood of our people can bring positive effects on overcoming the current situation," said Mr. Lee.
The monetary worth of the donation is equal to about $83 million, as each of the 4,000 patients plan to donate 500ml. An official from Green Cross Pharma, a leading South Korean biotechnology company said, It is difficult to accelerate developing a medicine for COVID-19 with only 200 recovered patients who expressed their will to donate blood. The massive donation from the recovered patients in the Shincheonji will solve the problem of the lack of blood for research.
The South Korean National Institute of Health said 185 people have so far come forward to donate plasma as of Monday and said they were in talks with Shincheonji for donations, according to Reuters.
"We had a discussion with the health authorities and tried to establish a plan with details for the mass donation. Some of the recovered members have already donated individually, feeling thankful for the assistance from the government and medical teams. They expressed their will to make a contribution to the society," said an official in the church.
The donations come amid government lawsuits against the church. Local governments in South Korea are alleging the church did not cooperate with authorities during the peak of South Korea's fight against COVID-19, when the majority of new cases were traced back to the church's congregation in Daegu, South Korea.
"No evidence has been found that Shincheonji supplied missing or altered lists. And there were only minor differences," said Kim Kang-lip, vice-minister of Health. Academic researchers and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have both gone on record stating that the church cooperated fully with the governments requests.
South Korea reported 12,535 confirmed cases and 281 deaths from COVID-19.
(Shincheonji and Coronavirus in South Korea: Sorting Fact from Fiction - A White Paper
https://www.eupoliticalreport.eu/covid-19-and-the-shincheonji-church-in-south-korea-a-white-paper-reve als-the-truth/)
(The Global Response to the Coronavirus: Impact on Religious Practice and Religious Freedom - https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020%20Factsheet%20Covid-19%20and%20FoRB.pdf)
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The callous scapegoating of Shincheonji Church by media outlets and politicians - fuelled by the Protestant church - that included leaking of personal information to the public, has led to severe persecution and the deaths of at least three Shincheonji Church members. In response, prominent international human rights and religious freedoms organisations including the U.S Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), leading academics and international religious figures including Imams and priests have denounced fake news and human rights abuses against Shincheonji Church members. Democrats in South Korea are currently drafting amendments to existing legislation on journalistic ethics and standards to eradicate the media's free rein to publish news without fact-checking.
The callous scapegoating of Shincheonji Church by media outlets and politicians - fuelled by the Protestant church - that included leaking of personal information to the public, has led to severe persecution and the deaths of at least three Shincheonji Church members. In response, prominent international human rights and religious freedoms organisations including the U.S Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), leading academics and international religious figures including Imams and priests have denounced fake news and human rights abuses against Shincheonji Church members. Democrats in South Korea are currently drafting amendments to existing legislation on journalistic ethics and standards to eradicate the media's free rein to publish news without fact-checking.
As evidenced through today's article, Shincheonji Church is continuing to fully comply with government authorities to help resolve the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea and abroad. Shincheonji Church has published its response to all allegations made during the COVID-19 pandemic:-
“This is our earnest request: please stop the cursing and hatred towards Shincheonji. And we ask some media outlets that are slandering and suppressing Shincheonji using unconfirmed information and fake news to stop immediately.”
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Main Reference
"Recovered COVID-19 South Korean Church Members Agree to Donate $83 Million Worth of Plasma" (Dominican Republican News, June 26th 2020)▶https://www.dominicanrepublicnews.net/newsr/10336
News Publications
"4,000 Recovered COVID-19 Church Members in South Korea Declare Donation of $83 Billion Worth Plasma for Cure" (Eagle Online, June 27th 2020)▶https://eagle.co.ug/2020/06/27/4000-recovered-covid-19-church-members-in-south-korea-declare-donation-of-83-billion-worth-plasma-for-cure.html
Shincheonji Church of Jesus in S. Korea Responds To What It Believes Are Erroneous Media Reports (Cision PR Newswire, 01/03/2020) ▶https://prn.to/3hDu3uo
South Korea church hit by COVID-19 says members to give plasma for research (Jakarta Post 24/06/2020)▶https://bit.ly/2CBY5if
"4,000 Recovered Shincheonji Church Members Donate Plasma to Aid International COVID-19 Plasma Therapy" (Benzinga, June 27th 2020)▶https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/20/06/n16419569/4-000-recovered-shincheonji-church-members-donate-plasma-to-aid-international-covid-19-plasma-ther
After the Coronavirus in South Korea: Intolerance Against Shincheonji (EIN Newswire 08/05/2020) ▶https://bit.ly/2ABE1vp
Broadcasting Centres Raise Audience Ratings through 'Shincheonji Hatred'…“Enormous and Malicious Influence on National Progress” (Cheonji Daily 18/03/2020)
Controversy over Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s Response to COVID-19 as number of infected members from the established church is 2.4 times higher (Cheonji Daily 18/03/2020)
"Coronavirus and Shincheonji: Stopping the Witch Hunt" (02/03/2020) ▶https://www.cesnur.org/2020/shincheonji_appeal.htm
Coronavirus and the Shincheonji Church in South Korea - Separating fact from fiction (24/03/2020)
Coronavirus: USCIRF decries South Korea for blaming Shincheonji Church (Muslim Community Report 10/03/2020)▶http://bit.ly/2Qhpmdz
COVID-19: Twelve NGOs call upon UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion to address the scapegoating of a church in South Korea (EU Political Report 10/06/2020)
Four criticisms of 'Shincheonji Doctrine' brought to light… If you only believe in external sources, that’s a 'disgrace' (Cheonji Daily 04/03/2020) ▶https://bit.ly/2wGAslq
IndependentFromBeliefs (March 2020)
International NGOs Warned the South Korean Human Rights Crisis in the Coronavirus Outbreaks (NAWE 16/03/2020)▶https://www.nawe.bi/International-NGOs-Warned-the-South-Korean-Human-Rights-Crisis-in-the.html
International Policy Digest (IPD 08/04/2020)
[Issue Focus - Expert Analysis] Shincheonji Infected with COVID-19: Series of Searches and Tax Investigations, Is It Reasonable? (Cheonji Daily 10/06/2020) ▶https://bit.ly/2AZEbww
Lies regarding the Coronavirus about Shincheonji 신천지 (03/03/2020)
Prohibition of 'Hateful, Speculative and Distorted' Reporting Proposed under Natural Disasters Act (EDaily 17/03/2020)
Prosecution investigates membership list provided by Shincheonji Church Headquarters: “No hidden members; they reported a true list” (Newsis News Agency 17/03/2020)
Quarantine Official: "Confirmed case of COVID-19 in Daegu had existed before ‘patient 31’" (Daum News 22/03/2020)
Quarantine Official: "Confirmed case of COVID-19 in Daegu had existed before ‘patient 31’" (Naver 22/03/2020)
"Shincheonji didn't lie about membership figures." (The Korea Herald 17/03/2020)
'Shincheonji members who survived COVID-19 volunteer en masse to aid vaccine development' (Religion News Service 26/06/2020)▶https://religionnews.com/2020/06/26/shincheonji-members-who-survived-covid-19-volunteer-en-masse-to-aid-vaccine-development/
South Korea church hit by COVID-19 says members to give plasma for research (Today Online 23/06/2020)▶https://bit.ly/3dxDTup
Understanding Pandemic Monitoring Without Scapegoating: The Truth about Shincheonji (11/05/2020)
White Paper on Shincheonji and Coronavirus
Massimo Introvigne, Founder of Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) (17/03/2020)
Rosita Šorytė International Observatory of Human Rights of Refugees (IOHR) ▶https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8IqLUegjT4
Alessandro Amicarelli, Attorney, European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB) ▶https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py9NlpXQC9E
Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF)
Official COVID-19 Response by Shincheonji Church of Jesus
•0307 Chairman Man Hee Lee asks "all congregants to fully cooperate for disease control" in a special announcement
•0302 Statement at Press Conference of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19
•0302 Regarding COVID-19 Testing of Chairman Lee, Man-hee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
•0301 Letter of Appeal to Political Leaders
•0228 Letter of Appeal from Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Regards to COVID-19
•0226 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Provided a List of All Members to Public Health Authorities
•0223 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19
•0222 Over 1000 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Locations Disinfected and Closed Down in Korea
•0221 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Closed Down Its Churches and Affiliated Buildings from 18 Feb
•0220 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19 Countermeasures and Fake News
•0219 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
•0218 Notice on the Worship Service of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Regards to COVID-19
COVID-19/Fact Checker: Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
That's great! I didn't know you plasma was worth so much, I thought as a normal citizen you would just donate it freely.
ReplyDeleteHi Noah, could you please clarify if it's $83 million or $83 billion, because there is a huge difference. We don't get much news in country here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your message, Andrew. Yes - the total figure is $83 billion.
DeleteIn the US, the price of blood from someone who has recovered from COVID19 is $35-$40,000 per ml (depending on the amount of antibodies).
So 4000 donations multiplied by 500ml per donation=2,000,000ml (2million) total in donations. At $35~$40,000 per ml, this comes to $70-80billion total.
You can verify here: https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/05/money-for-blood-coronavirus-has-created-a-spike-in-the-plasma-market-as-researcher-demand-increases-report.html
I hope that helps:)