This is an innovative work with important technological renovations that helps develop the blood transfusion services, make blood products, thus helping comprehensively change the blood transfusion in Vietnam.

The “revolution” in the blood transfusion

Prior to 1993, Vietnam faced big great challenges: while the blood demand for emergency cases, treating patients in disasters and reserving for national security and defense increased sharply, the blood supply was modest.

At that time, 90 percent of blood donors were paid donors. In many cases, the blood from the donors could not satisfy the quality requirements, while there was no blood storage equipment. Meanwhile, infectious diseases spread out rapidly among the community, thus threatening the blood transfusion safety.

In 1994, a research team of the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Bach Mai Hospital and the Hanoi Medical University, proposed to carry out a research on making blood products with the aim to increase the units of blood transfused, improve the quality, safety and blood transfusion efficiency.

Professor Dr Do Trung Phan, head of the research team, said that in 1994, the researchers step by step carried out the research, exploration and production some certain components of blood. After that, 1995-1999 was the period for trial production. In late 2000, the State’s Scientific Council under the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, now the Ministry of Science and Technology, approved the project on producing and standardizing blood products which can meet international standards for disease treatment.

After 10 years of implementing the project, in 1994-2004, the scientists also successfully kicked off the blood donation movement and recruitment of voluntary blood donors. They also helped change the view that donating blood harms to the health.

The movement has been growing rapidly in a sustainable manner, with the volunteer blood donors increased from 0 percent to 65 percent, and the repeated blood donors (who are considered the safest blood suppliers) reached 35 percent.

The project led to the reforming of the blood collection process, replacing the use of bottled blood system (open procedure) with plastic bag (closed process) which allows reducing the risk of infection in the blood collection.

To develop the new process, the researchers themselves tried to make chairs serving the blood connection, made blood bag shaking machines for all blood collection units nationwide. This initiative helped save hundreds of millions of dong which has been awarded the certificates of merit by the General Labor Confederation of Vietnam.

As such, the scientists spent 10 years for significant research work. Most importantly, it laid a firm foundation for the development of blood transfusion centers throughout the country, helps improve the treatment quality, and increasing the confidence of people’s in the healthcare system.

Especially, the project has helped train the staff of officers with high qualification, successfully building the 10 year plan to develop and modernize the blood transfusion in Vietnam in 2001-2010 approved by the Prime Minister in 2001.

In order to implement the plan, four regional blood banks and four blood transfusion centers were built in Hanoi, Hue, HCM City, Can Tho which would serve as the foundation for the sustainable development of the blood transfusion throughout the country.