The youth volunteer group We Are One Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch held the closing ceremony of the We Are Red Life-Sharing Campaign ‘2023 Life ON, Youth ON’ at the Korean Red Cross Gwangju-Jeonnam Blood Centre on the 15th December.

The closing ceremony of the Life-Sharing Campaign on that day was held in the following order: ▲Watching the We Are Red campaign highlight video, ▲Announcing the results of We Are Red blood development and future plans, ▲Congratulatory speech by the blood director, and ▲Awarding a plaque of appreciation.

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Blood Centre of the Korean Red Cross considers the period from January to March and August to October, when blood supply is low, to be a period of blood supply crisis due to the holiday seasons.

In celebration of its first anniversary, the We Are One Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch held a blood donation campaign from July 21st to October 18th to resolve the blood supply shortage and practice the sharing of life as blood supply is imperative due to the summer holiday season and Chuseok holiday.

To participate in this campaign, students and working professionals used their weekday lunches and weekends to donate blood. A total of 7733 student members participated in blood donation, including after lectures. The amount raised through blood donation cards and vouchers reached 39,025,000 KRW (£235).

According to We Are One, the stories of the participating members were diverse. There were members who donated blood for the first time in their lives and others who participated because their family members had received blood transfusions. In addition, there was a member in his 20s who donated blood an average of 10 to 25 times a year, and has donated blood 128 times so far.

Dong-soo Kim, head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Blood Centre of the Korean Red Cross, expressed his gratitude in his congratulatory speech, saying, “We Are Red was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most blood donation requests last year, which is great.” He added, “Thank you for joining us in saving lives through young people’s blood donation during difficult times.”

One member who participated said, “I was even more grateful to hear that I could help people in need of blood transfusions by donating blood. Above all, I was grateful that I was able to save the lives of my neighbours without revealing myself.” “I also wish to participate next year by taking good care of my health this year,” he said.

An official from We Are One Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch said, “In the We Are Red blood donation campaign that was carried out nationwide, the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch started with a goal of 7527 donors, and was able to achieve the goal with the active participation of 7733 members.”

He said, “I am grateful to the members who joined us and the hearts of those who were unable to join us because they did not meet the standards set in the pre-test.” He added, “In order to carry out another blood donation campaign next year, many members will actively take care of their health. Together, we will overcome the blood supply crisis.”