"Blood Donation, I Will Do It Over 100 Times" ... Bang Chang-man, Deputy Manager at Gimhae Urban Development Corporation, Awarded 'Gold Medal' for Blood Donation Service

Deputy Manager Bang Chang-min of Gimhae Urban Development Corporation, Gyeongnam, awarded the Gold Medal for Blood Donation Merit on World Blood Donor Day.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Se-ryeong Lee] On the 14th, World Blood Donor Day, a citizen of Gimhae, Gyeongnam received the Gold Medal for Blood Donation Merit.

The recipient is 37-year-old Deputy Manager Changmin Bang of Gimhae Urban Development Corporation, who has donated blood 50 times over the past seven years.

Deputy Manager Bang, who participated in volunteer activities for leukemia patients, vowed to continue a blood donation relay after seeing patients unable to receive proper treatment due to blood shortages.

Enduring the prick for seven years, he enjoyed the joy of sharing life and hoped that his own children would also understand the gratitude of being able to extend someone’s life and join in the happy prick.

On the day Deputy Manager Bang made his 50th blood donation, his three children accompanied their father to the blood donation center.

Although still young and unable to participate in blood donation, they heard from their father about the value of sharing life.

That day, the father eagerly anticipated the day he could donate blood with his children and set a goal of more than 100 donations.

Deputy Manager Changmin Bang said, “I am very worried because the number of blood donors has decreased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding, “I hope the importance of blood donation will be widely recognized so that many lives can be saved.”

World Blood Donor Day, established in 2004, is a day to express respect and gratitude to blood donors worldwide who voluntarily donate their blood without compensation, promoting the sharing of life and discouraging paid blood donation.

It was designated on June 14, the birthday of Dr. Karl Landsteiner, who discovered the ABO blood group and won the Nobel Prize.

The Korean Red Cross has also held commemorative events on this day since 2004, awarding blood donation merit medals such as the Grand Honor Medal, Honor Medal, Honor Badge, Gold Medal, and Silver Medal.

According to the Korean Red Cross, South Korea is self-sufficient in blood for transfusions but imports plasma components, which are raw materials for medicines, from abroad.

The Red Cross explained that more than 3 million people need to participate in blood donation annually to avoid importing blood, and as of June 14, the blood supply for all blood types amounts to 9.8 days’ worth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.