UN Walking Blood Bank training course wraps up in Chinese peacekeeping camp

By Yang Ronghui, Qian Wuxia and Qi Pengfei

Trainees participating in the UN Walking Blood Bank (WBB) training course pose for a group photo at the the 24th Chinese Peacekeeping Level One Plus Hospital to UNIFIL on Dec. 20, 2025.(Photo by Huang Bixiang)

BEIRUT, Dec. 22 -- The UN Walking Blood Bank (WBB) training course jointly held by the 24th Chinese Peacekeeping Level One Plus Hospital to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the UNIFIL HQ Naqoura Hospital wrapped up on December 20, 2025. More than 20 trainees from seven countries attended the five-day course. Medical experts from the UN and UNIFIL served as instructors.

Under the theme of "ensuring timely supply of blood and blood products to support the UN field operations", the course focused on the safe and effective use of items in the WBB toolkit. The course aimed to enhance operational preparedness through immersive drills and real trauma scenario simulation. The trainees took part in the whole operational process of the WBB from blood collection, blood grouping, blood storage and transportation to blood transfusion, to ensure the safety and availability of blood and blood products, and support the UN field operations by timely supply and delivery.

During current UN peacekeeping operations, timely and effective blood supply and delivery are playing an increasingly important role in improving the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and ensuring the safety of peacekeepers' lives. The establishment and implementation of the WBB will increase the treatment rate of the wounded to the maximum extent.

The training course is a concrete measure to fulfill China's commitment made at the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 held in May, 2025, as well as a practical action taken by the Chinese military to actively implement the Global Security Initiative and serve the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Trainees participating in the UN Walking Blood Bank (WBB) training course communicate with each other at the the 24th Chinese Peacekeeping Level One Plus Hospital to UNIFIL. (Photo by Li Hui)