Blood is an important resource, both for planned treatments and urgent interventions. It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. Blood is also vital for treating the wounded during emergencies of all kinds like natural disasters, accidents, armed conflicts, etc. and has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and perinatal care.
World Blood Donor Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day, and World AIDS Day.
WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | June 14 | Sunday |
| 2021 | June 14 | Monday |
| 2022 | June 14 | Tuesday |
| 2023 | June 14 | Wednesday |
| 2024 | June 14 | Friday |
HISTORY OF WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY
The history of blood donation goes far back, with the first transfusions done using poorly understood science and very early research. But it wasn’t until Richard Lower was the first one to examine the science of blood donation with animals. He managed to successfully transfuse blood between two dogs with no appreciable ill effects.
And the science that surrounded the topic of blood slowly developed from that point, breaking taboos and moving from animal experimentation. From progress in transfusion technology to Karl Landsteiner discovering the ABO human blood type system to best determine donors, blood transfusions quickly became a staple in health topics and the medical field.
Following on from the success of World Health Day in the year 2000, which focussed on blood donation and the safety of transfusions, ministers of health from all across the world made a unanimous declaration in May 2005, during the 58th World Health Assembly, to designate World Blood Donor Day as an annual event held on every June 14, choosing Landsteiner’s birthday to commemorate it.
World Blood Donor Day aims to raise awareness regarding the need for regular blood donations, important to keep the health industry with a stable supply, and to celebrate the hard work of medical professionals that work in the research and development for new technology and uses for donated blood, as well as medical teams who use blood on a regular basis. This day is also used to thank donors for their service and determination to save lives and make the world a better place.
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