Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: 2 record-breaking blood donors aim to inspire others to follow in their footsteps
- Kwan Sek-yiu and Erikku Lee hold records for the most whole and blood component donations respectively, but always encourage others to surpass them
- Doctor from blood donation service recommends duo for Spirit of Hong Kong Awards to honour their efforts
Kwan Sek-yiu takes pride in his impressive blood donation record, but the 70-year-old says he hopes to meet some equally dedicated Hong Kong good Samaritans who can beat his achievement.
“As in the Yangtze River, the waves behind outpace those ahead,” he said, quoting a Chinese proverb that means the next generation will always surpass the previous one. “Progress is good.”
The grandfather has been giving blood for 50 consecutive years since 1972 and in June hit a record 191 whole blood donations.
A whole donation means donors opt for a general procedure to provide all the components found in blood, made up of red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma.
Kwan, who has also done distance swimming for 50 years, ran marathons for 45 years and taken part in the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker 25 times, gives blood about every 75 days.
The only exception is when he is out of Hong Kong, unwell or preparing for a major sporting event.
Kwan said he had also encouraged other people to give blood. The retiree motivates many new blood donors by taking part in community volunteering groups and by sporting a T-shirt with the slogan “I am a blood donor”.
