Naval officer donates blood 290 times

Navy Lt.Cdr. Jang Jin-hwan, right, donates blood. / Courtesy of Navy

By Jun Ji-hye

Navy Lieutenant Commander Jang Jin-hwan, 36, has donated blood a total of 290 times since he first began donation during his high school days.

Jang of the 3rd Fleet, who acquired his nickname, “King of blood donation,” said as long as his health permits, he hopes to continue to donate to be of help to patients who need blood.

He began donating blood when he was a sophomore in high school to help a freshman who was suffering from leukemia. Since then, he has continued to donate blood once every two to three weeks on average.

When his comrades were wounded in action during North Korea’s deadly shelling of Yeongpyeong Island in 2010, he donated blood for them.

“I thought about blood donation while thinking about a way to help others,” he said. “I donated blood once every two to three weeks. I hope I can continue to donate 300 to 400 more times in my life as long as my health allows me to do so.”

The 3rd Fleet said other than Jang, there are a number of officers at the fleet who regularly donate blood.

Twelve officers including Jang were awarded a medal given to those who donate blood more than 50 times. Another 15 officers were awarded another medal for those donating blood more than 30 times.

Those 27 officers have donated about 600,000 cc of blood in total, the fleet said.

Sailors, officers and contractors in the fleet have also been joining a campaign led by the Korean Red Cross Blood Services encouraging people to participate in blood donation.

“We recruit for the campaign twice a year,” a fleet official said.