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World Blood Donor Day is an event to create public awareness about the need for safe blood products for transfusion.1 There is a need for voluntary, unpaid blood donors to keep the health industry with a stable supply of blood.2 Today is also used to thank donors for their service to save lives.2
“Give blood and keep the world beating”
The slogan for this year’s World Blood Donor Day campaign is “Give blood and keep the world beating.” This slogan stresses the importance of blood donations to contribute to better health. This year, the World Health Organization is calling on young people to donate blood in their communities.1 Specific objectives for this year’s campaign are to:
Promote giving blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.1
Thank blood donors and raise public awareness of the need for regular, unpaid blood donation.1
Encourage youth to donate blood and inspire others to do so as well.1
World Blood Donor Day is important because blood transfusions save lives, there is always a need for more blood donations and it is a global issue.2
Blood By the Numbers2
Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
It takes around 10-15 minutes to donate blood.
38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
2% of people in America donate blood.
The minimum necessary waiting period between whole blood donations is 56 days.
Facts about Blood2
There are 8 blood types.
People that have Type 0 blood are the universal donors.
Blood is divided into four elements: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, all floating in plasma.
Red blood cells can last up to 42 days.
How to Donate Blood
Blood donation appointments can be made by downloading the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting www.redcrossblood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or to receive more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients.
All blood types are accepted for donation—in fact, all blood types are needed, appreciated and could save multiple lives!
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