Reward for blood donors

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto will honor 149 blood donors and some others from around the country at the State Palace today.

The chairwoman of the Indonesian Red Cross' city branch, Uga Wiranto, said yesterday that the people on the honor list had donated blood at least 75 times.

"There are 149 donors from Jakarta. They include 146 men and three women," she said, adding many more had donated in other regions.

Uga, the wife of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wiranto, said the ceremony coincided with the 52nd anniversary of the Indonesian Red Cross.

She said the city branch managed to collect 178,768 blood packs last year, well above its target of 172,000.

This year it hopes to collect 180,000 blood packs. As of yesterday, it had collected a total of 126,612 packs indicating that the branch may well surpass its target, Uga said.

The blood was distributed to 22 hospital blood banks and 279 hospitals here. (jun)