Impact Stories

The health and medical needs of an ageing population mean Hong Kong has to store up increasing amounts of fresh blood products. This year alone, the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) needs 3.4 per cent more units of whole blood, plasma and platelets than it collected last year, when demand increased by 4.4 per cent. Added to that growing demand is the fact that donations from first-time donors have fallen, in part because the revised school curriculum means Form 7 students are now spread out in universities and the workplace, rather than easily targeted in a school. So where can additional donors be found? To help find an answer, the BTS has been turning to Dr Michael Chau, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics, whose research focuses on data mining and analysis.

Hotel guests typically are provided with small, wrapped complimentary bars of soap. Rarely do they use the whole bar. What happens to the remainder? That question spurred students from the Faculty of Business and Economics to engage with the community in an initiative that offers a solution and benefits both the environment and public health.