UPDATE: This blog was slightly rushed last night so some additional comments this morning. There are a number of hygiene, well-being of those post drawing of blood, and safety issues if they actually “spill” the blood (i.e blood needs to be handled with care and once it is dumped somewhere, what about the safety of others from disease). This is more to point out there are a number of things that could go wrong. Conceptually though, a symbolic protest like this is more preferable to blocking Bangkok roads, taking over government buildings or the airport. What next? A hunger strike?

From watching TV around 8am Bangkok time this morning, it seemed very orderly. People were signing up to donate blood. They had a doctor asking questions and a nurse drawing the blood – it seemed fairly standard.

AP:

Protest leaders vowed Monday to collect blood from tens of thousands of anti-government activists and splash it onto the Thai government headquarters in a symbolic sacrifice to press their demands for new elections.
…
Frustrated, the protest leaders said they would collect “1 million cubic centimeters” of protesters’ blood, or about 264 gallons (1,000 liters), to spill at Government House in the Thai capital by Tuesday evening — a tactic slammed by the Red Cross as wasteful and potentially unhygienic.

Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader and doctor, said the plan would test Abhisit’s conscience.

“Now that people have agreed to sacrifice their blood like this, how can he not make a sacrifice by dissolving the parliament?” Weng said.

The Nation though:

The Nursing and Midwifery Council is threatening to punish nurses who agree to collect blood from red-shirt protesters for the plan to pour blood around Government House today.

“We will consider punishing them on a case-by-case basis,” council president Prof Vijit Sriruphan said yesterday. “They should know that collecting blood is only done for research or medical purposes.”
…
Medical Council secretary general Dr Samphan Komrit said it was highly unlikely the reds would be able to mobilise 500 medical workers for the protest today. He said taking blood from people could be dangerous if it wasn’t done by trained medical workers.

…
Samphan, of the Medical Council, also disagreed with the red shirts’ blood campaign. “I can’t say that this is an abuse of the code of medical conduct or not, but it would be the first [such] case in history,” he said.

Samphan said the council would discuss the issue at its next meeting if somebody filed a complaint about the move.

BP: So on one hand it would be dangerous not to use trained personnel on the other if trained professional help them the professionals will be punished. Now, for health reasons, it is not possible to draw blood from everyone, but say they drew blood from 500 people who were healthy and there were adequate safety and security procedures all around then BP doesn’t see a serious issue with this – compared with seizing government buildings and the airport. The proof will be on the safety measures put in place.

btw, it seems drawing blood is a greater crime than doctors refusing to treat some patients because of their political beliefs.