On World Blood Donor Day: 'Give blood. Give now. Give often.'
World Blood Donor Day (WBBD) is an official campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO) in association with the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). This year Viet Nam takes its turn as host country with the global event being held in Hanoi on 14 June 2017.
World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is celebrated on 14th June each year, the birthday of the Austrian biologist and physician, Karl Landsteiner (1868–1943). Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood groups in 1901, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, which led to the development of the blood group classification used today. Later in 1937, he helped to identify the Rhesus factor which has become crucial to patient safety during blood transfusion. As such, Landsteiner is considered to be the “founder” of modern blood transfusion.
Blood is an essential resource relied upon for planned treatments and surgical procedures as well as in emergency situations which may arise from accidents, natural disasters, armed conflicts etc. This annual, global day of observance serves to raise awareness of the need for safe, high quality blood and blood products and also to thank the unpaid volunteers who regularly donate blood and to encourage more people to become new donors.
The focus this year is on emergency preparedness within communities and promotes the message that every single person can help. The campaign is driven to recruit many more people to commit to regular, year-long voluntary unpaid blood donation in order to maintain sufficient blood stocks ahead of emergency crises. The campaign leads with the slogan: What can you do? Give blood. Give now. Give often.
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