World Blood Donor Day is marked annually on June 14 to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation. The goal of the observance is to encourage people to donate blood, but also to celebrate those who do it voluntarily, without reward.
The day was instituted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000, with the name of World Health Day and the slogan “Blood Saves Lives”.
The date was chosen in homage to Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner, awarded the Medicine Nobel Prize in 1930 for having discovered the blood types. He turned blood transfusions into a medical routine.
Most of the world’s population has no access to blood. Around 80 million units of blood are donated yearly, but only 38% of it is collected in developing countries, where 82% of the world’s population lives. Patients in many countries depend on blood donated by family and friends.
In 2022, the slogan of the World Blood Donor Day is: “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives”.
Photo credit: Facebook / Mănăstirea Putna
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