People who donate blood help to save millions of peoples’ lives every year. This altruistic act is celebrated annually on June 14th during World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), on the anniversary of Karl Landsteiner’s birth, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930 for his discovery of the ABO blood group system.
Every single blood or plasma donation is a precious lifesaving gift and regular voluntary unpaid donation is the key to building a safe and sustainable blood supply. Access to a secure blood supply based on the voluntary unpaid donation is vital for all patients including many requiring life-long and regular transfusions for conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia.
However, in many countries, blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety. Lack access to safe blood and blood products – especially in low- and middle-income countries, impacts on all patients, including those requiring regular transfusion. In many countries, there is also a need to increase the plasma donations to make sufficient plasma protein products available for patients.
The need for blood is universal, but access to blood for all those who need it is not. Blood shortages are particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries. Blood insufficiency is experienced by more than 75% of patients with thalassaemia in low- and middle-income countries.
The 2023 Campaign
This year’s theme is “Give Blood, Give Plasma, Share Life, Share Often”, recognising the importance of repeated donations in building a safe and sustainable blood supply, particularly for people who require regular transfusions to manage conditions, such as β-thalassaemia and sickle cell disease.
The specific objectives of this year’s campaign are:
???? to celebrate and thank individuals who donate blood and encourage more people to become new donors;
???? to encourage people in good health to donate blood regularly, as often as is safe and possible, to transform the quality of life for transfusion dependent patients and help to build a secure blood supply in all countries in the world;
???? to highlight the critical roles of voluntary non-remunerated regular blood and plasma donations in achieving universal access to safe blood products for all populations; and
???? to mobilize support at national, regional and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programmes.
Host for WBDD 2023 events
The host country for the global event of World Blood Donor Day 2023 is Algeria through its National Blood Transfusion Service.