Every year on the 14th June, the world comes together to celebrate World Blood Donor Day, honouring the millions of voluntary blood donors whose blood contributions save lives daily.
Did you know…?
April the 14th also marks the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Austrian scientist who discovered the ABO blood group system, paving the way for modern blood transfusions! (one of the reasons why the 14th June was chosen as blood donor day)
This year’s theme for the campaign is ‘One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.’ Emphasising that every blood donation is more than just a medical act – it also helps to show solidarity, compassion and collective compassion for everyone’s lives. Every donation shows just how great a power we have to impact different lives positively.
The campaign makes sure to aim to:
- Encourage blood donation worldwide to help grow blood bank supply
- Raise awareness of just how important blood and plasma donation can be in saving someone’s life
- Highlight the essential role donors have
- Motivate governments around the world to strengthen national blood drive programmes to help ensure access to safe blood transfusions
All of this helps makes a big difference – overall globally around 118.5 million blood donations are made each year, which has enabled millions of people to survive things like surgery, traumatic Injuries and medical conditions through transfusions. By donating blood, you really can help to save lives.
So, this World Blood Donor day, just remember that a single act of giving blood can ripple out to help countless lives.