Expats and Khmers encouraged to give blood in Phnom Penh via new ‘Blood of Kindness’ campaign

Khmer Times
August 7, 2024

A new initiative, in conjunction with the National Blood Transfusion Center, is asking people to donate blood in Phnom Penh on the 9th of August.

According to the National Blood Transfusion Center (NBTC), less than 15% of the people in Cambodia donate blood. There has been a constant demand of blood supply, averaging 250-300 of blood units every day to support Cambodia’s public hospitals and clinics.

In collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Center, #BloodofKindness campaign, in conjunction with Soma Group and BreadTalk, invites the general public to join their blood drive on Friday, August 9 from 9AM – 4PM, at TheCommune TK in Tuol Kork, no15 Street 347, Phnom Penh.

This event is open to the public, combining the professionalism and high standards of doctors with a relaxed environment for the people not comfortable to go and donate in a clinical setting.

Everyone is welcome and the donor just needs to be in good health, more than 16 years old and with weight of 45kg or higher — in addition, everyone gets a free health screening.

There will also be a chance to get to know the new blood mascot, named “អម្រឺត-Amret”, which means vitality in Khmer.

It’s a companion for donors and patients, a character created in order to raise awareness to the importance and easiness of donating blood to save lives.

Besides the design by local artist Kan Sereysopheak, there will be a showcase of the Amret Blood Mascot crochet created by Cambodia Knits, a social enterprise working with marginalized communities in and near Phnom Penh.

Their goal is to produce beautiful, high-quality and unique hand-made products while providing fair and flexible employment opportunities.

The campaign is run by Blood of Kindness. and initiated by a group of local youth, artists, and Local4local non-profit.

Blood of Kindness is a community campaign to promote the importance of blood donation education in Cambodia.As a creative-first initiative, they create digital educational content with the support of local partners, doctors, and hospitals while advocating for the accessibility of blood donation through organizing blood drives for the public.

With the support from the NBTC, BloodofKindness is run by volunteers, thus, any proceeds to the campaign allows them to continue support of the life-saving mission of blood donation in Cambodia.

For more details, go to their telegram channel: https://t.me/bloodofkindness or visit their new website:

https://www.bloodofkindness.org