REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTa - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for a synergy between the government, including regional administrations, and the Indonesian Red Cross in handling humanitarian activities.

Such a synergy would quicken life-saving tasks in case of natural disasters, Yudhoyono said on Tuesday, before around 950 people who had donated their blood at least 100 times. The head of state thanked the blood donors and called them humanitarian heroes.

The people, who voluntarily donated their blood, had presented a gift of life to their fellow human beings, the President stated. In disaster-prone countries, such as Indonesia, blood donors were crucial, he noted. Yudhoyono also presented awards to blood donors from 21 provinces.

Since 1970, a total 4,968 volunteer blood donors have received such awards. An award recipient is distinguished after he or she has donated at least 30 liters blood. On the occasion, President Yudhoyono conveyed the gratitude expressed by the the Philippines government to the Indonesian government and the Indonesian Red Cross in particular for helping the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

Since 2012, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has established a Central Blood Donor Unit in Jakarta and 211 units in 210 districts/cities across the country. Last year, PMI collected 2,243,462 pouches of blood. After being processed, PMI had managed to secure 3.8 million pouches of blood, or 70 percent of the total national demand.

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