Lesser known stories of blood donation

Supportive foreigners and reluctant Chinese

The Hong Kong Red Cross began its blood donation programme in 1952. The organisation relied on imported blood and remunerated blood donation at the beginning, and only became self-sufficient years later. As blood donation remained a taboo in Chinese society, the majority of donors were foreigners. Only 400 bags of blood were collected a year then. Blood was contained in glass bottles until plastic bags were introduced to replace the glass container in the 70s.

Since 1991, Hospital Authority has been responsible for managing the work of BTS and continued the principle of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation in Hong Kong. Last year, 258,222 bags of blood were collected, of which 250,554 bags were from whole blood donation and 7,668 from Apheresis donation.

The origin of phlebotomist

The position of phlebotomist originates from BTS in 2002, thus allowing nurses to focus on clinical work. Public hospitals have followed suit since 2007 and hired Patient Care Assistant to provide 24-hour phlebotomist service and clinical patient care-related support. Aspiring phlebotomists have to receive training, pass exams and obtain a certificate to be qualified for the position. The one-year programme covers training of phlebotomy, electrocardiogram examination and intravenous cannulation to equip students with relevant skills.

Your support is indispensable to maintain a steady blood supply. Act now and donate blood! More details can be found at http://www5.ha.org.hk/rcbts/enindex.asp.