[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Bo-Young Hong] “At first, I thought that it would not be practical when I heard it said that some 10,000 people would donate blood. But hadn't 18,000 people already done so? Actually, I really felt their strength (of Shincheonji Church). I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the unimaginable group blood donation at the beginning of this most difficult time.”
Ki-hong Park, Director of the Blood Donation Division of the Korean Red Cross Blood Management Headquarters, spoke these words at the We Are One 'Live ON Youth ON' blood donation campaign conference held in the second floor auditorium of Seoul Dongbu Blood Centre of the Korean Red Cross on the morning of the 27th August.
18,819 people had previously donated blood over 17 days, setting a new domestic record that was certified by the Korea Record Institute as being 'the single largest blood donation within the shortest period of time'. The undertaking to break this current record has begun only three months later.
On the 30th of last month, 'We Are One', a youth volunteer group with a global membership of 90,000, launched by Shincheonji Church of Jesus, started donating blood with a target of 70,000 donors. This campaign, which started under the leadership of We Are One, will be held for three months with the unprecedented participation of 70,000 donors at blood centres located in 17 metropolitan areas, including Seoul and Busan.
Jin-suk Yang, head of the Logistics and Transportation department of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, predicted at the meeting held at Dongbu Blood Centre that the target of 70,000 donors is expected to increase by more than roughly 30,000 donors, and that a total expected figure of roughly 100,000 people would participate in the group blood donation campaign. He said, “We have 70,000 young people, and in addition to that, we have appointed people of different ages as honorary members to participate in the blood donation campaign.”
In particular, this campaign is being held at a time when blood supply levels are critical. According to the Blood Management Headquarters of the Korean Red Cross, blood supply is seasonally affected. August is the off-season when all schools are on break, office workers go on vacation and the weather is very hot, so blood supply levels are lower than usual. Blood reserves need to be held at an average of 5 days or more for stable medical activity, but in August, it usually drops to 3.5 days, approaching the 'amber' stage.
Moreover, with more than 100,000 confirmed cases a day due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the number of people in quarantine increases and the amount of movement decreases. Furthermore, as the number of critical cases increases, the demand for blood becomes very high.
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| Current status of red blood cell preparations over the past month |
In the past month, the trend of red blood cell preparations has been falling. The trend illustrates a drop from 40,000 units on the 28th of last month to about 30,000 units on the 13th and 23,210 units today. In particular, in the case of O blood type, the number has been reduced to 4898 units, which equates to 3.4 days' supply.
Director Park said, “August is always a difficult time for blood inventories, but due to the Coronavirus, the stocks have dropped sharply. Right now, they are held for about 4 days, but in the case of O blood type, reserves are held at about 3 days, so it's already reached a somewhat critical level.”
He continued, “I am very grateful to Shincheonji Church for holding such a large-scale blood donation event at the beginning of this most difficult time. I predict that we will not have to worry about blood donation levels for the rest of this year.”
Regarding the 70,000 blood donor target, he said, “The (target) itself is a huge and unimaginable undertaking not only in our country but also throughout the world. Any other volunteer activity would be simple enough, but it is difficult to donate blood in such a short period of time.”
In addition to blood donation, the venue seemed to provide a festive atmosphere with various activities and booths for a photo zone, face painting, oil pastel, and snacks. As there have been no official face-to-face church gatherings, the youth, who had not seen one another in person, responded that they were happy to come together and participate in the event.
Sang-won Lee (26, male) and Yu-rim Lee (24, female), who worked as staff volunteers at the booth for the collection of blood donor certificates, said, “We've felt very isolated through non-face-to-face meetings. We now feel stronger and our faith has deepened.”
As the blood centre was closed on that day, only a small number of blood centre officials and We Are One members could participate in giving blood.
Yeon-tae Kim (35, male), who made the very first blood donation on the first day of the event, said, “I've lived under the illusion that my health will last forever because I am young, but after being taught the Bible, I've perceived the precious value of life that I had never experienced before. That's why I decided to participate in this blood donation campaign.” He said, “I will continue to actively participate in the future.”
Jun-su Hong, Head of We Are One, said, “Like the name of the group, the group was launched with the purpose that young people around the world can do everything and lead the world when they come together as one. I started thinking that the most valuable service we could do is to donate blood to save lives. We will not end with this Live ON Youth ON campaign, but we will continue to help and cooperate with the blood supply.”
https://www.newscj.com/article/20220827580103===========================
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