On 14 June each year, people around the world come together to celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The day is an opportunity to thank voluntary and unpaid donors for their contribution to saving lives, and to raise awareness of the ongoing need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products for those in need.
This year’s campaign theme is “Give blood, give hope: together, we save lives”. This message highlights the ability of blood donors to save lives. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the fact that lives can be saved through the simple act of donating blood.
Blood transfusions provide life-saving support for:
- women experiencing bleeding related to pregnancy and childbirth,
- children suffering from severe anemia due to malaria or malnutrition,
- complex medical and surgical procedures, improving both survival rates and quality of life for countless patients,
- patients with sickle-cell disease, thalassemia, hemophilia, or immune deficiency disorders,
- and emergency response, helping treat people injured in natural disasters, accidents, and armed conflicts.
The campaign will publicise the experiences of people who have survived thanks to donations, publish donor testimonials and encourage regular donors to maintain their commitment. It will also motivate healthy people, especially young adults, to donate blood for the first time.
Activities to promote the World Blood Donor Day theme can include commemorative events, meetings, workshops, donor appreciation ceremonies, social media campaigns, special media programmes, and musical and artistic performances in honour of blood donors. Publications of relevant experiences are also an option.