Jakarta-wapresri.go.id At the awarding ceremony of Satyalancana Kebaktian Sosial awards to 864 blood donors for voluntarily having their blood drawn at least 100 times each (DDS), Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that everyone can take actions for humanity regardless their age.

“This (blood donation) gives us inspiration that humanity action is not limited by age, and certainly men and women have the same opportunity to take such an action,” said the Vice President at the event held at the Millennium Hotel in Central Jakarta on Sunday night (Feb. 19).

He further said that the need for blood in Indonesia currently reaches approximately 5 million bags of blood per year, and it will continue to increase as the population grows.

“The more modern a man, the more he is in need of blood. With the advance in technology, there are more and more vehicles [which tend to cause] a lot of accidents,” he said.

The Vice President who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) said, this award is an appreciation of PMI and the government to the DDS who have regularly donate blood to help the community.

“I heard that [the DDS] have served at least 25 years or even longer. On average, they have given blood donation between 105-110 times. Even there is one doing over 151 times,” he said.

The Vice President at the occasion also appreciated East Java province which has the largest number of voluntary blood donors having their blood drawn at least 100 times each.

“For that I would like to extend my appreciation to provinces that have a high level of dedication,” he said.

After delivering his speech, the Vice President handed over the Satyalancana Kebaktian Sosial awards symbolically to 15 DDS.

Of all provinces, East Java has the most DDS (331 donors), followed by Jakarta (170 donors), and Central Java (111 donors).

The Vice President also handed over awards to Yadi Mulyadi (33 year old) to the youngest DDS donating blood more than 100 times, and to Antonius Israel Kaparang who becomes the oldest donor (76 year old). Both of them are from Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Joseph Widodo (63 years old) from Banten province was given award for his largest donation with 151 bags of blood donated.

Besides, the Vice President also granted umrah and other religious travels to 20 people.

“Every year, to show our respect to their dedication, we grant umrah or other [religious] trips to 20 people. There are tickets for non-Muslims to Rome or Jerusalem. Last year, there were two people going to Jerusalem,” he said.

Also present at the ceremony were Minister of Health Nila F. Djuwita Moeloek, Chief Executive of PMI Ginandjar Kartasasmita, and Special Staff to the Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Regional Autonomy Syahrul Udjud.