Overview:
Transfusion of blood and its components saves millions of lives every year from obstetric bleeding in women, anemia in children, patients with blood disorders, patients with genetic diseases, accident victims, and others. Therefore, on June 14, the world celebrates World Blood Donor Day. This date corresponds to the birth of Karl Landsteiner, founder of the ABO blood grouping system.
Objectives:
- Celebrating individuals who donate blood, thanking them, and encouraging those who have not yet donated blood to donate.
- Highlight the need for blood donation throughout the year, to maintain adequate supplies, and to ensure safe blood transfusion on time.
Facts:
- Blood is an important resource, whether for planned treatment or urgent interventions.
- Nearly 12,700 blood donation centers in 170 countries report collecting 100 million blood donations.
- Around 117.4 million blood donations are collected worldwide. And 42% of it is collected in high-income countries, which are home to 16% of the world's population.
- The first international blood donor day was established in 2005.
- Saudis ranked first in the world out of 28 countries, in terms of demand for blood donation, with a rate of 58%, in a study conducted by the British Ipsos & Morey Foundation.
Official date:
Globally: June 14th, 2023
Locally: Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 25th, 1444H