China's Red Cross boasts 3.5m registered volunteers and 34,000 service organizations

China's Red Cross currently boasts nearly 3.5 million registered volunteers and 34,000 volunteer service organizations, the Red Cross Society of China said on Monday.

This year alone, the Red Cross has mobilized rescue teams on 2,580 occasions, involving a total of 29,921 personnel and volunteers, Wang Bin, vice-president of the Red Cross, said during a news conference. These teams have played a crucial role in emergency response and relief for some natural disasters, including in Myanmar earthquakes and in China's Xizang autonomous region, as well as severe typhoons, rainstorms, and floods affecting Beijing, the provinces of Guangdong, Guizhou, Liaoning, Hebei, Gansu, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Following the deadly residential fire that broke out in Hong Kong on Nov 26, the Hong Kong Red Cross dispatched its first local disaster relief emergency service team, with support from China's Red Cross. The Red Cross will continue to monitor the needs of affected residents and support its Hong Kong branch in facilitating recovery and community rebuilding efforts.

This year, the Red Cross also conducted 4.25 million emergency rescue certification training and installed 86,000 automated external defibrillators in schools, communities, bus stations, and other public facilities.

As the Red Cross manages the nation's blood and bone marrow donations, Wang noted that China now hosts Asia's largest bone marrow donor registry and ranks fourth globally, with 3.72 million registered volunteers and 21,000 completed donations. Additionally, 7.28 million people have registered as organ donation volunteers, with over 60,000 posthumous organ donations carried out, resulting in the provision of 195,000 organs.

Wang added that the Red Cross has established more than 6,000 community-based projects aimed at strengthening disaster preparedness and providing volunteer assistance and care.