World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is held annually on 14 June. It aims to help build a worldwide culture of voluntary blood donation. Since 2004, this event has celebrated blood donors and highlighted the unique life-saving role they play in the health of their community.
It is also used to create wider awareness about the need for blood and how many more people throughout the world need to become regular voluntary blood donors.
WBDD is sponsored by four core agencies that work together to promote voluntary blood donation:
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the World Health Organization (WHO)
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the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
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the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations
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the International Society of Blood Transfusion
These organizations represent 193 WHO member states, 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, over 60 national blood donor organizations and more than 3,000 blood transfusion specialists.
At the World Health Assembly in 2005, the ministers of health of all WHO member states unanimously adopted a resolution that recognized voluntary non-remunerated blood donors as the cornerstone of a safe, adequate and sustainable blood supply. They endorsed World Blood Donor Day as an annual event and recommended that it should become an integral part of national blood donor programmes.
Each year a WBDD theme is set. The theme for WBDD 2010 is young blood donors - new blood for the world!
National campaigns and activities are supported by an international media campaign. A country that has demonstrated major achievements in working towards, or maintaining, 100 per cent voluntary blood donation hosts a global WBDD event.
WBDD is not intended to replace national blood donor days or weeks, but to provide an opportunity for the world to unite in a global celebration of humanitarianism, volunteerism and solidarity.
WBDD aims to:
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create awareness of the role that individuals can play in saving and improving human lives
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encourage people to enroll as voluntary blood donors
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provide a springboard for longer-term donor education programmes and campaigns to strengthen blood transfusion services
Information and ideas for activities and resources to support national campaigns can be found on the WBDD websites: www.wbdd.org and www.who.int/worldblooddonorday.