The 300,000 cubic centimeters (cc) of blood reportedly collected from over 70,000 red-shirt protesters last Tuesday, that was splattered at Government House, the Democrat Party head office, and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's residence, could have saved hundreds of patients at hospitals in Bangkok waiting for blood donations.
According to the Thai Red Cross Society's national blood centre director, Dr Soisa-ang Pikulsod, 350cc of blood could help save a person's life.
She said a lot of patients, with haematological blood disorders and cancer in 200 hospital across Bangkok, needed blood for treatment.
"We need at least 525,000 cubic centimeters of blood to save 1,500 patients in 200 hospitals in Bangkok," she said.
Dr Soisa-ang said that each day about 40 per cent of blood donated to the society is sent to hospitals across the country. The society also have sent 350,000 cc of donated blood to southern border provinces.
The red shirt protesters used over 300,000cc of blood to pour and splatter at places such as Government House, but Soisa-ang said this was just a political stunt.
The Thai Red Cross Society defines a blood donation as giving blood without repayment and it is an act unrelated to politics. It was all about saving other people's lives and helping patients, she said.
However, she said the controversial campaign - which ended up with blood splashed on fences and the pavement at Government House and other places - had inspired many people to donate blood to the society, as they saw the value of blood.
"I was surprised when I saw many people were coming in the society (office) to donate their blood," she said.
Last year, the number of blood donors was only 1,200 people per day but this year the number of had increased to 1,500 people per day over the same period.
"I think people want to help the country to reduce tension and find a way out of the political turmoil. This was a good sign," she said.
Meanwhile, a 43-year-old Khon Kaen resident, Bandit Oonjai, said he had the right to do anything with his blood, including donating it to the campaign to splatter blood at Government House and other places.
"It was just only 10cc of blood that was taken out of my body. I still have enough blood to donate to the Red Cross Society to save other people's lives but not this time," he said.
A 47-year-old Kalasin resident, Pian Thonpanya, said she was also proud to be part of the campaign. She vowed to do anything, even give her life, to help the red shirts achieve their goal of ousting the government.
Red-shirt leader Dr Weng Tojirakarn said the blood collection campaign did not violate the medical code of conduct, as the red shirts did not use their blood to hurt other people.
"It was just a political campaign to oust the government," he said.
Meanwhile, the Medical Council of Thailand will discuss the issue at its next meeting on April 2. They will consider whether the red shirts' blood collection campaign, which was conducted by physicians, violated the medical code of conduct or not.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council had threatened to punish nurses who joined the blood-donation process, saying the campaign was contravened the intent of blood donations, which to use blood to save other's lives.
