His Excellency the Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah sponsored a ceremony honoring 100 blood donors, and awarded each donor with a Medal of Merit from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The event took place on Monday evening, June 12, 2011, at Makarem Hall in the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh.
The event announcement was made by Dr. Ibrahim Al Omar, General Director of Blood Banks and Laboratories. Dr. Al Omar pointed out that the ceremony coincided with the celebration of World Blood Donor Day, marked annually by the World Health Organization.
World Blood Donor Day’s slogan for this year is “More Blood…More Life.” The awareness campaign aims to urge all nations to celebrate and honor voluntary blood donation. The number of donors who have received the Medal of Merit has reached 30,000 to date.