The Shincheonji Youth Volunteer Group "WE ARE ONE" has earned the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for "Most People Registering Online as Blood Donors in 24 Hours."
Korean volunteers have been included in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the challenge of "Most people signing up to donate blood online within 24 hours." On October 1, Shincheonji Youth Volunteer Group "WE ARE ONE" filled out online blood donation applications for 71,121 volunteers within 24 hours to beat the world record.
The record challenge of 70,000 blood donors was prepared to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation to overcome the blood shortage caused by COVID-19. The Korean youth organization WE ARE ONE conducted the "Life ON Youth ON" blood donation campaign.
According to the Global Status Report on Blood Safety and Availability published by WHO in June 2022, all countries have been affected by blood shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also in January 2022, the American Red Cross announced that the U.S. is facing a national blood crisis - the worst blood shortage in more than a decade.
Through "Red Connect," the official blood donation smartphone app of the Korean Red Cross, all volunteers filled out the application to donate blood within 24 hours, from 8:00 a.m. on October 1 to 8:00 a.m. on October 2. This is about seven times the previous world record of 10,217 (8 hours) held by India.
Junsu Hong, the director of WE ARE ONE, said, "It was possible not only because of the volunteers, but also because of the officials of the Korean Red Cross who are on the frontline of finding a solution to the blood shortage, but also the IT company that developed an efficient blood donation app. In that sense, it has great significance. I believe that COVID-19 can be defeated if we all become one," he said.
Since its launch on July 30 this year, WE ARE ONE has been running the "70,000 Blood Donations" campaign since August 27. As of October 11, a total of 43,811 people have donated their blood, and the plan is to complete the blood donation of 70,000 people by November.
The official record can be viewed on the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ website.
