World Blood Donor Day

Friday June 14 is World Blood Donor Day. Honouring two decades of heroes: celebrating life-saving generosity in 2024!

Every year, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day, an event that serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products. The day also serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.

A blood service that gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health system. The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year in recognition of the selfless individuals who donate their blood for people unknown to them.

The World Health Organization (WHO), its partners and communities across the world, will this Friday unite behind the 2024 theme: ”20 years of celebrating giving: thank you blood donors!”

The 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day is also a timely moment to address continued challenges around blood supply, and to accelerate progress towards a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.

The objectives of the campaign are:

• To thank and recognise the millions of voluntary blood donors who have contributed to the health and wellbeing of many more millions of people around the world.
• To showcase the achievements and challenges of national blood programmes and share best practices and lessons learned.
• To highlight the continuous need for regular, unpaid blood donation to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion.
• To promote a culture of regular blood donation among young eligible individuals and the general public, thereby increasing the diversity and sustainability of the blood donor pool.