Shincheonji Church of Jesus receives commendation from the Chairman of the Korean Red Cross for 'blood donation by 18,000 congregants'
✦Help to alleviate the blood supply crisis in the Covid pandemic
✦“Contribution to the life-sharing movement”
✦Awarded at the 'Blood Donor Day' commemorative event
✦The 14th is designated as the first national holiday
[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Su-kyung Kang] Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Chairman Man-hee Lee), which has radiated news of hope amid a blood supply crisis in Korea during the Covid-19 pandemic through a large-scale blood donation, received a commemorative award from the Chairman of the Korean Red Cross in recognition of their life-sharing movement on 'World Blood Donor Day' on the 14th.
Hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organised by the Korean Red Cross, this event was purposed to promote the importance of giving blood and to show respect and appreciation to blood donors. This blood donor day was particularly meaningful as it was the first event to be designated a national holiday following the revision of the Blood Management Act last December.
'World Blood Donor Day' is a celebration organised by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), and the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (FIODS), among others. It is a global anniversary jointly established in 2004 by four international organizations.
The event held at the Seoul Office of the Korean Red Cross was attended by 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Ki-il Lee, Blood Management Chairman Young-ae Lim, Korean Red Cross Vice President Hee-young Shin, Secretary-General Sang-cheon Lee, and Head of Blood Management Headquarters Cho Nam-seon. It was held as a non-face-to-face event at the bloodmobile site.
18,819 Shincheonji Church of Jesus members completed blood donations for a total of 18 days from April 18 to May 4, helping to solve the blood supply crisis caused by the spread of the Omicron variant. According to the Blood Management Headquarters of the Korean Red Cross, 18,000 blood donations are equivalent to 3.5 days' blood supply. In addition, a total of 32,324 blood cards and vouchers were donated to the Korean Red Cross by collecting blood donations from church members.
Ki-il Lee, 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, said, “I would like to thank everyone who participated even amid a difficult blood supply situation.”
Hee-young Shin, Chairman of the Korean Red Cross, also said, “I express my gratitude for the noble spirit of the 2.6 million blood donors in Korea.”
The commemorative World Blood Donor Day event was held with awards delivered by the Minister of Health and Welfare and the Chairman of the Korean Red Cross to top blood donors and participants of the blood donation drive. Shincheonji Church of Jesus was awarded the Korean Red Cross Chairman's Citation for “actively participating in the Red Cross' humanitarian movement and contributing greatly to the development of blood for the protection of life.”
An official from Shincheonji Church of Jesus said, “As blood cannot be artificially manufactured, giving blood is the only way to save a patient’s life. The value of this life-sharing act by members and the determined heart to resolve the national crisis all came together to create a miracle. Shincheonji Church of Jesus will not stop carrying out the love of Jesus.”
In the early days of COVID-19, when there was no vaccine or treatment in 2020, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, upon the request of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, participated in a blood plasma donation to develop a treatment for Covid-19. 6,000 of its members donated over three rounds.
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