Hainan village inspires enthusiasm for blood donations

A group of 70 Chengmai county residents in Hainan province donated blood again on Feb 7 at the provincial blood center in Haikou. It was the sixth consecutive year they had turned out to honor their social duties during the Spring Festival, the local government said.

The donations helped local hospitals, which often face shortages during the holiday period, officials at the Hainan Provincial Blood Center said. "My mobile phone has been ringing from morning until night since I posted a notice about blood donation on our village WeChat group. Some villagers called to sign up while others asked about precautions for first-time blood donors," said Wang Zeqian, head of Tuwei village, which is home to 530 inhabitants. "Blood donation is harmless to donors, but helpful to others. It's a good thing, so I have been doing it for 25 years."

Wang started donating blood when he was 32. At the time, he was working in Haikou, some 50 kilometers from his hometown of Chengmai in the northern part of Hainan Island. "I happened to see a mobile blood donation unit parked on the street one day in 1998. After learning the importance of donating blood, I immediately gave some of my own," Wang said, adding that blood donations were still new to many people, and there were few volunteers at the time.

He has received six national awards for donating a total of 1,800 milliliters of blood and 207 therapeutic doses of platelets in 120 donations, the center said.

Wang said that he continued after returning home to serve as head of Tuwei village in 2016. He also began to explain the advantages and precautions involved in donating blood to friends and village residents.

His actions inspired others.

Wang Enhai, one of the first in the village to become a donor, said that he watches what he eats and avoids drinking before each donation so that the blood is top quality. "Villagers still clearly remember the time 200 married women returned to Tuwei from other parts of Hainan and lined up under a big banyan tree outside a blood donation unit sent by the provincial blood center during the 2018 Spring Festival," Wang said.

About 14 percent of the villagers have made 400 donations during the Spring Festival holidays over the past six years. Meanwhile, many Tuwei residents also regularly donate platelets. Over 70 of them are listed at the provincial emergency blood bank as potential donors for patients in need, according to the provincial center.