The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The blood donation vehicle of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) made its debut on campus today (October 17) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), providing blood donation services to its students and staff members. The Under Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Chui Tak-yi; the Chief Executive and Medical Director of the BTS, Dr C K Lee; and the Executive Vice President of PolyU, Dr Miranda Lou, officiated at the launch ceremony this afternoon and encouraged all members of PolyU to render their support to the university's blood donation campaign. Having commenced service in April, one of the key objectives of the vehicle is to reach out to different tertiary institution and secondary school campuses for blood collection, as well as promote the message: "Give Blood Save Lives".
Dr Chui shared in his speech that the support and co-ordination from the communities were crucial for blood donations. PolyU has been a role model for promoting blood donation for years. The establishment of the first on-campus blood donor centre in Kowloon in 2014 also demonstrated PolyU's tremendous effort in promoting blood donation to the young generation.
Dr Lee expressed his gratitude to the Government and PolyU for their generous support. "We are very pleased to partner with PolyU to encourage more young people to participate in the blood donation activities. It is very encouraging to see them carry the torch and contribute to the sustainable blood supply for the society", he said. PolyU has been collaborating with BTS to organise campus-wide blood drives since 1983. Over 40 000 units of blood have been collected during the past three decades.
Dr Lou said in her speech, "PolyU is the first tertiary institution in Hong Kong to receive the Special Merit Award (non-commercial category) from the BTS in recognition of PolyU's support for stable blood supply. We are very pleased that our efforts could contribute to the well-being of our community."
BTS will update the vehicle's service schedule via its website, social media platform and HK Blood mobile app. The new vehicle is 11 metres long, 3.8m high, 2.6m wide and weighs 16 tonnes. With a built-in generator, the vehicle is able to operate independently and hence with greater flexibility for blood collection service.
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