World Blood Donor Day is celebrated annually on June 14 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood around the world, to thank and honour those blood donors for their generous gift of blood; who make transfusion possible, and to encourage healthy, eligible individuals to give blood regularly.
The overwhelming majority of the world’s population does not have access to safe blood. More than 80 million units of blood are donated every year, but only 38% are collected in developing countries where 82% of the global population lives.
World Blood Donor Day seeks to create wider awareness of the importance of voluntary, nonremunerated blood donation and encourage more people to become regular blood donors.
The theme for World Blood Donor Day, 2008 is “Giving Blood Regularly”.
World Blood Donor Day builds on the success of World Health Day 2000 which was devoted to the theme "Blood Saves Lives. Safe Blood Starts With Me".
June 14 has been designated as World Blood Donor Day, to mark the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel Prize winner who discovered the ABO blood group system.
World Blood Donor Day has been designated as an annual event by all Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2005. It is jointly coordinated by four founding partners:
- World Health Organization
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations
- International Society of Blood Transfusion.
Among them, they represent 192 member states, 181 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 50 national voluntary blood donor organizations and blood transfusion specialists throughout the world.
The WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in Manila, Philippines organized a blood collection drive last 16 June 2008.