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The Thai Red Cross Society is a charitable humanitarian organization founded in 1893 due to the conflict between Thailand and France over the borders on the left bank of the Mekong River. The conflict led to a battle that resulted in a large number of soldiers’ deaths, injuries, and suffering. At the time, there was no official charity organization to help provide relief services to those affected by mass casualty incidents. A group of Thai women, led by Thanphuying Plien Phasakaravongse, a lady of the court, had an idea that there ought to be an organization to help relieve the soldiers’ suffering in the same way as the International Red Cross. She conveyed the idea to establish a relief organization for affected soldiers to Queen Savang Vadhana (later titled “The Queen Grandmother). The idea was brought to the attention of King Chulalongkorn, who granted permission to establish the “Red Unalom Society of Siam” (the Thai Red Cross Society).

Throughout its history, the Thai Red Cross Society has always been committed to the seven Red Cross Principles, known in full as the “Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement”, consisting of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, vuluntary service, unity, and universality. Based on these principles, the Thai Red Cross Society pursues its four missions as follows:

Medical and Healthcare Services

The Thai Red Cross Society provides medical and healthcare services through the following institutions:

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) is a tertiary care hospital serving a very large number of patients. Average the hospital provided services to a total of 2,000,000 out-patients or an average of served a total of  50,000 in-patients . KCMH has 29 medical excellence centers to provide total medical care and improve patients’ quality of life, e.g. the Queen Sirikit Center for Breast Cancer, Cardiac Center, Excellence Center of Organ Transplantation,  Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease & Related Disorders, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of Excellence, Geriatric Excellence Center, and Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center.

Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital, Chonburi Province, a leading medical hub in the Eastern region of Thailand, is located near a big industrial estate zone with over 5,000 factories and a deep sea shipping port. With a current bed capacity of 800 beds, the hospital serves over 900,000 out-patients, in-patients, and emergency patients per year. It has seven medical excellence centers, such as the Elderly Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Center, which makes home visits to housebound elderly patients to provide them with medical services.

Moreover, under the Thai Red Cross Society, there is the Srisavarindhira Thai Red Cross Institute of Nursing, which produces about 200 nurses per year to provide care for patients both physically and mentally.

Disaster Relief Services

Disaster Relief Services are provided by the Relief and Community Health Bureau through 12 Red Cross Stations, four Branches of Red Cross Health Stations, and all Provincial Red Cross Chapters. Operations include disaster preparedness, emergency relief, and post-disaster recovery for people affected by earthquakes, floods, storms, fires, and epidemics. In the past year, a total fund of 100,00,000 Baht was spent to help victims of floods, storms, cold weather, fires, etc.

Blood, Organs, and Biological Products and Services

The Thai Red Cross Society fulfills this mission through its relevant organ component centers. The National Blood Center and 12 regional blood centers are responsible for the provision of whole blood, blood components, and blood products for patients nationwide. The Plasma Fractionation Center was established to produce plasma products for the treatment of patients. The Eye Bank, is the center for keeping records of individuals who register as eye donors and collecting eye tissues from them after their deaths for patients who require transplants. Average there were a total of 600 patients with corneal disorders receiving cornea transplant surgery at hospitals in the network nationwide. The Organ Donation Center is the national organ and tissue center that collects organs and tissues from deceased donors and allocates them to transplant recipients. A total of 4,000 patients across the country have been transplanted through the center. Moreover, there is the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, which produces vaccines, serums, and other biological products and provides vaccination services through its Immunization and Travel Clinic and Animal Toxin Clinic.

Quality of Life Promotion

The Thai Red Cross Society’s mission to improve the quality of people’s lives is carried out through medical treatment, rehabilitation, health promotion, and disease prevention. Other services include a mobile clinic for eye, cleft lip and palate, and other surgeries to improve other disabilities. A mobile dental clinic is also part of the mission. In addition, the Thai Red Cross Youth and Volunteer Bureau has been playing an important role in producing and training volunteers to support several charitable activities of the Thai Red Cross Society. The bureau is entrusted with the core task of creating and engaging younger generation volunteers who are knowledgeable, uphold ethical values, and understand the Thai Red Cross Society’s fundamental humanitarian principles.