Over 4,000 Blood Donors and Elite Partners recognized at Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service's Annual Award Ceremony

Over 4 000 blood donors and Elite Partners commended at Annual Donor Award Ceremony for second consecutive year

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) today (June 14) held its Annual Blood Donor Award Ceremony to commend the commitment of outstanding regular blood donors and the support of outstanding Elite Partners. In 2025/26, a total of 4 076 donors reached the milestone of donating blood 25-times or in its multiples. This encouraging achievement marks the second consecutive year that the number of awardees has exceeded 4 000. The BTS extended its heartfelt gratitude to all donors for their selfless dedication.

The ceremony was officiated by the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan; the Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Red Cross, Dr Lau Chor-chiu and the Chairman of the BTS Hospital Governing Committee, Mr Ignatius Chan, etc.

Dr Fan said: "The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service targets to collect 650 units of blood daily by proactively encouraging the public to donate blood regularly through various means, ensuring a stable and safe blood supply for hospitals. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all devoted blood donors. I hope all of you will encourage friends who have never donated blood, especially young people, to take the first step and donate blood at donor centres throughout the city, or when mobile blood donation teams or blood donation vehicles visit, and gradually develop the habit of donating blood on a regular basis. I am confident that more new faces will show up at future donor award ceremonies."

Mr Fan said, "I am delighted to see many HA colleagues embodying extra roles as both dedicated healthcare professionals and enthusiastic blood donors. I would like to express my gratitude for their contributions and wish to extend my sincere appreciation to all donors across Hong Kong in celebration of World Blood Donor Day."

Mr Chan highlighted, "the BTS engage ongoing efforts to reach deeper into the community and provide more convenient donation services. Initiatives include the establishment of the first short-term donor centre in Tseung Kwan O, the "Pop-up" Tseung Kwan O Donor Centre, and the relocation of the Yuen Long Donor Centre in June to a larger venue, offering donors with a more comfortable environment and a diversified service experience."|

More than 122 000 donors generously donated blood, contributing nearly 210 000 units of blood this year. After processing and testing at various laboratories at the BTS, over 356 000 units of various blood products were supplied to hospitals across Hong Kong for clinical treatment.

In addition to individual donation awards, Elite Partnership Awards were presented to recognized corporate, community, and academic partners who have supported blood donation. A total of 31 partners from different sectors were honored with the "Elite Partnership Award." The respective winners are:

Elite Partnership Award - Corporate Partners

Prudential Hong Kong Limited

Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited

Sino Group

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited

Elite Partnership Award - Community Partners

Tsz Shan Monastery

Scout Association of Hong Kong

Lions Clubs International District 303

Rotary International District 3450

Yan Oi Tong

Evangelical Free Church of China - Yan Fook Church

Elite Partnership Award - Community Partners (Blood Donation Vehicle)

Whampoa Garden Management Limited

Lung Mun Oasis

Citygate

Elite Partnership Award - University

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The University of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong Baptist University

Elite Partnership Award - Secondary School

Kellet School

Ng Yuk Secondary School

St. Stephen's Girls College

Discovery College

Discovery Bay International School

Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School

HK & Kln Kaifong Women's Association Sun Fong Chung College

Diocesan Boys' School

STFA Tam Pak Yu College

TWGHs Chang Ming Thien College

PLK Wu Chung College

The BTS invites members of the public to keep donating blood and become a regular blood donor, to reach out helping hands to patient in need. Donors are advised to make appointments via "HK Blood" mobile app or by calling the BTS' donor centres. For details, please visit www.ha.org.hk/rcbts.

The Chairman of the BTS Hospital Governing Committee, Mr Ignatius Chan (centre) and the Chief Executive and Medical Director, Dr Lee Cheuk-kwong (second right) took a group photo with the youngest female awardee, Miss Yeung Megan Ho Ching (second left) and two student emcees and Blood Donation Ambassadors from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (first left and first right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chairman of the Hospital Authority, Mr Henry Fan presented award for "retiree" blood donors who reached the age limits for blood donation, expressing the sincere gratitude for their life-long support for blood donation. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan presented awards to outstanding blood donors. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) today (June 14) held its Annual Donor Award Ceremony to commend outstanding regular blood donors. Photo shows officiating guests with the BTS mascot Captain Blood at the Annual Donor Award Ceremony. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Health Bureau releases Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts 2024/25

The Health Bureau (HHB) released Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts (DHA) 2024/25 today (Aug 26), together with revised figures for previous years adjusted in accordance with international practice to incorporate the latest available information. The DHA provides a systematic description of the flow of health expenditure in Hong Kong over a 12-month period, forming a basis for assessing and understanding the levels and trends of health spending in Hong Kong.

The Health Bureau, Photo source: reference image

Overall speaking, the trend of health expenditure for 2024/25 remained steady. The Current Health Expenditure (CHE) in Hong Kong was $262,513 million, representing an increase of 5.0 per cent (or $12,491 million) over a year earlier. The CHE as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 8.2 per cent, similar to that of last year. The CHE per capita was $34,890.

Public healthcare expenditure ($135,450 million) accounted for 51.6 per cent of the CHE in 2024/25, and public CHE per capita was $18,000. Public CHE as a percentage of GDP was 4.2 per cent, similar to that of last year. Over the past 10 years, both CHE and public CHE in Hong Kong as a percentage of GDP showed an upward trend in general.

As for private healthcare expenditure ($127,063 million), it accounted for 48.4 per cent of the CHE in Hong Kong, or 3.9 per cent as a percentage of GDP, in 2024/25.

Photo source: reference image

The Government has been actively advancing primary healthcare reform in accordance with the directions set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint, gradually shifting the emphasis of the healthcare system from treatment-focused secondary and tertiary care to prevention-oriented, family doctor-centred primary healthcare. Since its establishment, the Primary Healthcare Commission has not only continued to expand the district health network, but has also been continuously enhancing and promoting the Chronic Disease Co-Care Scheme. In 2024/25, the primary healthcare expenditure accounted for 30.4 per cent of the overall CHE, and is progressing towards the Blueprint's objective of achieving a better balance between primary and secondary/tertiary care in overall healthcare expenditure, such as around 3.5:6.5 or even 4:6, in the long run. This reflects that the Government is gradually establishing a more sustainable healthcare system to cope with challenges posed by an ageing population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and more.

The DHA is compiled in accordance with the guidelines given in "A System of Health Accounts 2011" collaboratively published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Eurostat and the World Health Organization. It classifies the overall health expenditure into four dimensions of analysis, namely Health Care Financing Schemes (HFS), Revenues of HFS, Health Care Providers and Health Care Functions. These data enable policymakers, researchers and members of the public to assess the performance of the Hong Kong health system over time and to make comparisons with other economies that adopt the same framework in calculating their health expenditure.

Photo source: reference image

The DHA 2024/25 has been uploaded to the HHB website (www.healthbureau.gov.hk/statistics/en/dha.htm). Detailed classifications and time-series data are shown in an online interactive data dashboard with tables and graphs available to facilitate further analysis and research.