Blood donations save lives and are in short supply worldwide!
Blood shortage due to the low donor rate of only about 3 percent in Germany continues to be a major problem. The need for many seriously injured and chronically ill people continues to be great, so that voluntary donors are desperately sought.
According to the Red Cross, blood is used for a variety of purposes, including serious injuries in accidents, surgical procedures, anemia, childbirth and cancer treatment. However, since blood cannot be produced artificially, experts believe the only solution for the blood supply is blood donation.
In January, the American Red Cross declared a "national blood crisis" that poses a major risk to patient care. In March, the U.S.-based nonprofit Memorial Blood Centers (MBC) declared a "blood emergency" because type 0 blood supplies last only 1-2 days, and appealed to the public to participate in a single blood donation that can save up to three lives.
In South Korea, in cooperation with the peace organization HWPL, 18,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus donated blood for two weeks from April 18. This number was recorded as the largest group blood donation in the country.
Namsun Cho, head of the Korean Red Cross Blood Donor Service, said, "When the impact of Omicron was at its peak, Shincheonji Church of Jesus launched a large-scale blood donation campaign. It was like rain in a drought. We are surprised that the number of donors exceeded 6,000 within three days, and even more people participated. We appreciate their life-saving efforts. The number of blood donors is almost four times more than on a normal day, which is a big help in addressing the current blood supply crisis."
All donors from the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and HWPL donated their allowances in addition to the donation to ease the financial burden on patients who need blood for their treatment. This is to send a message of helpfulness to offer the greatest support in times of blood shortage.
Here in Germany, the Shincheonji communities in Berlin, Essen, and Frankfurt have also begun holding blood drives with members at the German Red Cross, among others, to help address the current blood shortage.
