"Blood donation activities can lead to the fostering of solidarity in the society," Kalla said on the sidelines of a blood donation function at @ American, Pacific Place, here Saturday.
According to the former vice president, the PMI had opened blood transfusion posts at malls and campuses.
Kalla said the condition of blood donors has been increasingly improved recently as shown by the achievement of blood donor to get four million donors per year of the targeted four and a half million donors.
"It has been improving now after we added additional facilities such as 100 mobile units and the level of public awareness is now high," Kalla said.
U.S. Embassy in Jakarta working together with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the "Blood for Life" community is holding a blood donation event in an American high-tech cultural center @america.
"For us it`s an opportunity once again to work as partners with our Indonesian friends because the relationship between America and Indonesia has changed and now it is really about how we can work together to solve problems and how we can bring our own people together in solving problem," said US ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel at the event.
Marciel said that the event is also a good chance to show the cooperation with local NGOs such as Blood for Life.
"This is a perfect timing to hold a blood donor event because in America, January is stated as the national blood donor month, due to the lack of blood supplies in the Red Cross," he said.
The US envoy on the occasion also launched a "Blood4Nation" campaign to bring the US tradition of blood donor month to Indonesia.
January is stated as the US national blood donor month because usually the number of blood donations in the United States reached its lowest point.
The event`s target is to get at least 1200 blood donors that will be distributed to Indonesian hospitals as they needed.
Blood4Nation campaign will assist Indonesia in achieving the target of a national blood donation.
(T.A050/HAJM/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
