World Blood Donor Day is a global event held on June 14 with the primary goal of raising awareness about the necessity of blood donation. Furthermore, the day is an excellent opportunity to empower voluntary blood donors and highlight their life-saving contributions. Efforts are being undertaken by the United Nations World Health Organisation to educate the public about the enormous influence that blood donation can have on the lives of others.  In this way, the day hopes to inspire more people to donate blood on a regular basis.

Date and History

Every year on June 14,  World Blood Donor Day is observed. The WHO initially recognized it in 2004, and the day was recognized an annual global event at the 58th World Health Assembly the following year. Every year, World Blood Donor Day has a new theme that highlights various elements of blood donation. The campaign tagline for World Blood Donor Day 2023 is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”

Significance

As previously stated, World Blood Donor Day is intended to raise awareness of the vital need for healthy blood and blood products in order to save lives and facilitate medical treatment and procedures. Because blood transfusions are required for many medical operations, including surgeries, trauma care, cancer therapy, and blood condition management, donating blood can directly help to save lives and improve health outcomes.

World Blood Donor Day educates people on the benefits of blood donation, from free medical check-ups to health benefits for donors, in addition to providing as a platform to raise awareness about the importance of frequent contributions and dispel common misconceptions about blood donation.

As per the WHO, the objectives of the occasion are:

• Celebrate and thank individuals who donate blood and encourage more people to become new donors
• Encourage healthy people to donate blood on a regular basis in order to improve the quality of life for transfusion-dependent patients.
• Work towards building a secure blood supply in all countries in the world; 
• Educate individuals on the importance of blood donations in providing universal access to safe blood products for all populations
• Work with governments and development partners at the national, regional, and global levels to invest in, strengthen, and sustain national blood programmes.