On 14 June 2012, World Blood Donor Day will be marked with events around the world to raise
awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank all voluntary unpaid donors
for their life-saving gift of blood.
The transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year. It can help improve life expectancy and the quality of life for patients suffering from life-threatening conditions, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. In many countries, demand outstrips supply, and blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety. Today, in 62 countries, national blood supplies are based on 100% (or more than 99.9%) voluntary unpaid blood donation. However, 40 countries still depend on family donors and even paid donors and collect less than 25% of their blood supplies from voluntary unpaid blood donors. The goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) is for all countries to obtain their blood supplies entirely from voluntary unpaid donors by 2020.
Every year, countries throughout every region of the world organize a huge variety of events and activities to celebrate the day, from football matches to free concerts, and from mobile blood donation clinics to monumental decorations.
Every Blood Donor is a Hero
The theme of the 2012 World Blood Donor Day campaign, “Every blood donor is a hero” focuses on the idea that every one of us can become a hero by giving blood. While recognizing the silent and unsung heroes who save lives every day through their blood donations, the theme also strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly.
The objectives of this year’s campaign are to:
- thank and reinforce the self-esteem of those who give blood so they continue to do so regularly;
- inspire those who do not give blood but are in good health to start donating blood;
- encourage blood service staff to recognize blood donors for their “heroic” act each and every time they donate blood;
- persuade ministries of health to show their appreciation of blood donors and provide adequate resources to move towards 100% voluntary unpaid blood donation.
Everyday heroes respond to an immediate need for blood for transfusion, whatever the conditions, even when it may be inconvenient, putting the needs of others above their own. Voluntary blood donors come from all walks of life, all regions, backgrounds, religions and ages. By choosing to donate blood of their own free will, without any payment, these individuals perform a “heroic” act, a gesture of human solidarity with the power to save lives. Some of them do so many times over several decades.
The 2012 theme also resonates widely in relation to other everyday “heroes” – such as fire fighters, police men and women, rescue workers, civic leaders, and “champions” of social causes and community improvement. This may provide opportunities for powerful connections of people and stories around World Blood Donor Day. For example, as the world’s attention turns to the London 2012 Olympic Games, blood services, blood donor associations and other institutions will have the opportunity to recruit sporting “heroes” to advocate for voluntary, unpaid blood donation at local, national or international levels.
Each year, a host country is identified for a global event that provides the focus for an international publicity campaign about World Blood Donor Day. The global event for 2012 will be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, hosted by the Korean Red Cross and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.
