As this day marks the Annual Memorial of World Blood Donation Day, we find it fundamental to underline how important it is to have enough safe blood supplies worldwide. This day provides a yearly opportunity to highlight the lifesaving role of voluntary unpaid blood donors and also to thank those donors who give this precious gift to save millions of lives every year.
Of the 108 million blood donations collected globally, approximately half of these are collected in the high-income countries, home to 18% of the world’s population. 75 countries report collecting fewer than 10 donations per 1 000 population. Of these, 40 countries are in WHO’s African Region, 8 in the Americas, 7 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 6 in Europe, 6 in South-Eastern Asian and 8 in the Western Pacific. All are low- or middle-income countries.
World Blood Donor Day 2015 launch will be hosted in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Blood Centre, which is also the WHO Collaborating Centre for Blood Transfusion Services in China. The focus of the 2015 campaign is “Thank you for saving my life“. It encourages donors all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly with the slogan “Give freely, give often. Blood donation matters.” Watch this promotional video
“The best way to guarantee a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products for transfusion is to have a good supply of regular donations by voluntary unpaid blood donors,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “WHO encourages all Member States to obtain all their blood supplies from such donors.”
On this day, IFMSA and particularly SCOPH joins its voice with the World to raise the awareness on how important it is to have a Safe Blood Supply , to help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions to live longer and maintaining a higher quality of life, supporting complex medical and surgical procedures and preventing thousands of maternal death cases per year.
One of the most feasible tools that could make your campaigns sustainable in the long run, to guarantee population adherence for the concept of blood donation, is to implement or advocate to implement a system that allows donors to know when their blood has been used to save a life. Read more about it in this article
Spread the Word. Educate People on how crucial it is to have a blood supply, raise your voice, Donate if you can, induce a change.
Entry written by Hani Hafez, SCOPH Regional Assistant for the EMR
On Behalf of the SCOPH International Team 2014-15
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