Nearly 1,000 Chinese and foreign volunteers participated in the 5th Yiwu World Blood Donation Day for Businessman, which was held at the Yiwu Blood Station on July 15.

Since the first Yiwu World Blood Donation Day for Businessman on July 15, 2016, an increasing number of Chinese and foreign volunteers have been participating in the annual event.

According to Mr Li, an employee at Zhejiang International Trade Supply Chain Management Service Co, his company has encouraged its employees to take part in the event for the past five years.

This year, 20 employees, along with the company's top executives, participated in the event again.

Li said he never drank, smoked, or ate greasy food, in order to ensure his blood remained untainted.

According to a representative of the Yiwu Blood Center, fewer people than usual donated blood due to the epidemic, but the demand for blood remained the same.

An expat donates blood at the 5th Yiwu World Blood Donation Day for Businessman, which was held at the Yiwu Blood Station on July 15. [Photo/WeChat account: yiwufb]

Every volunteer who continues to donate blood despite the current situation has made a great contribution, said the representative.

On July 15, around 1,000 volunteers took part in the event, donating 263,540 milliliters of blood in total.

The Yiwu World Blood Donation Day for Businessman was sponsored by the International Family under the Yiwu municipal commerce bureau, and was organized by 35 merchant associations from South Korea, Sudan, India, and other countries.

Over the past five years, 4,306 volunteers in Yiwu have donated a total of 1.27 million milliliters of blood at the event. More than 2,300 people's lives have been saved due to their generosity.

Volunteers taking part in the 5th Yiwu World Blood Donation Day for Businessman pose for a group photo on July 15. [Photo/WeChat account: yiwufb]