'Blood Knight' on the Han River

Red Messenger

It is not easy to make an appointment to talk to Mr. Phuc because besides working as a worker at DRC Da Nang Rubber Joint Stock Company, he spends almost all his free time on volunteer work. 33 years old, unmarried, not interested in entertainment, for this small-statured, dark-skinned guy, volunteering is always his top priority.

Mr. Phuc said that in 2014, he accidentally received news that a patient was in critical condition and needed blood urgently at the Da Nang Oncology Hospital. He and a younger brother went to find a suitable blood donor. Fortunately, after convincing many people, he found a blood donor that night.

Realizing that the search for blood donations was too passive, that same evening he and three friends founded the Ban Mai Xanh Hot Blood Club. "From 2014 to 2017, the number of volunteers was quite small, not enough to meet the blood needs of patients, and donors did not know their blood type. After that, I coordinated with hospitals to organize centralized blood donations, thereby increasing the source of volunteers as well as identifying their blood type and being able to mobilize when necessary," Phuc confided.

‘Hiệp sĩ máu’ bên sông Hàn- Ảnh 1. — Mr. Phuc gives gifts to poor patients on Tet holiday

In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic, people were not allowed to leave their homes, but patients always needed blood, so it was extremely difficult for the club to mobilize blood donations. "At that time, besides mobilizing volunteers to donate blood, how could we ensure their safety? They were very afraid of the epidemic. In many cases, patients had blood transfusions just to prolong their lives. At that time, I felt very sad because there was no way to help them," Phuc said with a choked voice.

Mr. Phuc himself has donated blood 7 times, but after discovering he had goiter, he could no longer donate blood. He focused on mobilizing and coordinating with the hospital to organize safe and effective blood donations. "Once I went up to the 10th floor of the Da Nang Oncology Hospital, which was the children's floor, I witnessed many children being treated for leukemia and some other blood-related diseases. At that time, mobilizing blood donations was very difficult, patients had to find blood themselves or buy it. Looking at the children was very pitiful because their hands were bruised from IV injections, their hair fell out, their faces were pale..., that urged me to try my best to mobilize blood donations to support them," he said.

Mr. Le Duc Duy, a patient, shared: "If there was no blood support from the Ban Mai Xanh Hot Blood Club, I think my condition would be very critical, maybe I would not be able to live anymore. I hope the Club and Mr. Phuc will be able to help more people in the future."

‘Hiệp sĩ máu’ bên sông Hàn- Ảnh 2. — Ban Mai Xanh Hot Blood Club has been doing charity work for 10 years.

The number of patients that the Club has saved and supported with blood is about 100 patients, including many children, ethnic minorities, and students with especially difficult circumstances. There are patients who have had to fight with illness for many years and do not know if they will still exist in this world tomorrow, but they still maintain a cheerful and optimistic spirit with sincere encouragement from a stranger, that is the "red messenger", "blood knight" Phan Xuan Phuc.

Currently, the club has more than 30 members and has connected more than 4,000 volunteers to regularly donate blood. Mr. Phuc has also mobilized more than 30 students to register to donate organs after death and has been a long-term companion to cancer patients.

Ms. Huynh Le Anh Thu, Department of Blood Testing and Transfusion, Da Nang Oncology Hospital, shared: "We highly appreciate the volunteer spirit in the blood donation campaign of the Ban Mai Xanh Hot Blood Club and Mr. Phuc, a very humane act. In addition to patients who need blood for regular treatment, there are also emergency cases where victims need blood urgently, Mr. Phuc can support even at night or on holidays. Every year, the Club contributes about 3,000 units of blood to the hospital, accounting for about 70% of the hospital's blood volume for treating patients."

Bridge of poor students

In addition to blood donation, Mr. Phuc and the Ban Mai Xanh Hot Blood Club also carry out many other volunteer activities, especially supporting students with difficult circumstances to continue going to school. Phan Xuan Phuc considers himself a bridge to help poor students connect with philanthropists.

There have been many students who thought they would miss out on their chance to study because their families were too poor or their parents died early, but he has helped them. Phuc himself did not have the chance to go to university, but he always wanted students to go to school, because that is their future.

Recently, he connected and supported Nguyen Thi He in Tra Van commune, Nam Tra My district ( Quang Nam ). He was orphaned at a young age and was at risk of dropping out of school early. He called for support for her with clothes, books, and a new school bag as well as tuition fees, encouraging her to continue her dream of becoming a teacher. Up to now, dozens of students have been supported by the Club and Mr. Phuc personally to study during their 4 years of university in Da Nang.

‘Hiệp sĩ máu’ bên sông Hàn- Ảnh 3. — Mr. Phuc gave motorbike and laptop to poor student Phan Thi Thanh Diem, Da Nang University of Education.

Recently, the Club has implemented a number of outstanding projects such as School Nutrition, Highland Smiles, sponsoring meals for hundreds of students in a highland commune (Tra Tap commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam); mobilizing and connecting charity groups to the Agent Orange Victims Support Center in Hoa Nhon commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city to give gifts worth nearly 80 million VND; mobilizing social organizations to give motorbikes and laptops to disadvantaged students of the University of Education (Da Nang University) worth nearly 100 million VND; donating 500 charity meals to students affected by the 2024 storm and flood...

Up to now, the Club has mobilized and given away about 2,000 social security gifts to the needy on Tet and anniversaries worth about 700 million VND; donated hundreds of bicycles to students of some schools in Da Nang City, some motorbikes and televisions to poor households, including colleagues who are workers in difficult circumstances. The Club has also mobilized donors to support the construction of 4 charity houses for 4 needy households. The total amount is estimated to be up to several billion VND in the Club's 10-year charity journey.

Although he is busy with work at the company and his income is not very good, Mr. Phuc always devotes himself to the community. Worker Phan Xuan Phuc recently registered to donate his organs to medicine after his death. Notably, he is the youngest person in Da Nang to receive the Medal for Humanitarian Cause awarded by the Central Red Cross Society and for many consecutive years has received certificates of merit from the Central Youth Union and the Vietnam Youth Union.