A woman donates blood at BJU. Photo: Courtesy of BJU

Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU) is holding a blood drive from 10 am-3 pm, March 9. The event is a plea to residents to donate their blood and contribute to the local community where they live.

For donors, there are some criteria to be met - they must be between 18 and 55 years old and not have donated blood in the past six months. They must weigh over 45 kilograms for women and 55 kilograms for men.

The BJU would like to kindly remind all blood donors that the day before they donate, they should try to eat light, healthy food to avoid any excessive build up of fat in the blood, which may result in disqualification from donation. All donors should remember to bring a photo ID or passport.

Since 2002, BJU has held around 70 blood drives, collecting more than 450,000 milliliters of blood from donors from dozens of countries.