Indonesian Red Cross extends services

DENPASAR: The Bali office of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has extended its services to take in blood donations from villages in remote areas of the island.

Tjok Gede Agung, head of the Bali chapter of Indonesian Blood Donors Association, said that he has seen young villagers in distant villages participating in blood drives.

"Many young people in these villages have been so eager to donate for various humanitarian purposes. Our young people are setting a good example," Agung said.

PMI has also worked in cooperation with religious communities. "We have often run our blood drives out of churches and mosques in the province," Agung added.

He cited statistics: PMI takes in annually about 800 individual donations containing from 250 to 300 cubic centimeters of blood, which does not begin to meet the province's needs: 35,000 such donations are required to meet local hospital demands. Even more units are called for when there is a severe dengue outbreak.

PMI has four blood donation centers in Badung, Buleleng, Klungkung and Tabanan regencies and the Denpasar municipality. - JP