World Blood Donor Day: Give Blood, Join the Effort and Save Lives

Nations globally commemorate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) annually on June 14. The purpose of the event is to honor volunteer, unpaid blood donors for their gifts of life-saving blood and to increase awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products.

World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is observed every year on June 14. It is celebrated on the birthday anniversary of Karl Landsteiner on June 14, 1868. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the ABO blood group system.

In order to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to express gratitude to blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving donations of blood, four major international organisations organised the event for the first time in 2004: the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (IFBDO), and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT).

India registered 47.81 lakh blood donors across the country last year with an annual average requirement of 146 lakh blood units. However, the data on e-Rakt Kosh, an initiative to connect, digitise and streamline the workflow of blood banks across the nation, shows that 45.99 lakh units of blood have been collected in the last 2.6 years.

With an aim to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood, the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is celebrated on June 14 every year.

A blood service that gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health system. The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year in recognition of the selfless individuals who donate their blood for people unknown to them.

Theme & Significance:The theme for 2024 World Blood Donor Day is “20 years of celebrating giving: thank you blood donors.” The occasion will showcase the achievements and challenges of national blood programmes and share best practices and lessons learned.

It will also highlights the continuous need for regular, unpaid blood donation to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion. It also promotes a culture of regular blood donation among young people and the general public and increases the diversity and sustainability of the blood donor pool.

Why should people donate blood?Blood is the most precious gift that anyone can give to another person – the gift of life. A decision to donate blood can save a life, or even several if blood is separated into its components – red cells, platelets and plasma – which can be used individually for patients with specific conditions.

There is a constant need for a regular supply of blood because it can be stored only for a limited period of time before use. Regular blood donation by a sufficient number of healthy people is needed to ensure that blood will always be available whenever and wherever it is needed.

Blood is needed by women with complications during pregnancy and childbirth, children with severe anaemia, often resulting from malaria or malnutrition, accident victims and surgical and cancer patients.

Is giving blood safe?An individual is accepted as a blood donor if he or she is fit and well. Health and well-being are very important to the blood service. The needle and blood bag used to collect blood come in a sterile pack that cannot be reused, making the process as safe as possible.

Who can give blood, and how often?The criteria for donor selection varies from country to country, but blood can be donated by most people who are healthy and do not have an infection that can be transmitted through their blood.

The age at which people are eligible to give blood varies, but is commonly between the ages of 17 and 65. Some countries accept donations from people from the age of 16 and extend the upper age limit beyond 65 years. Healthy adults can give blood regularly – at least twice a year.

WHO Report On Blood Donors?Of the 118.5 million blood donations collected globally, 40 percent of these are collected in high-income countries, home to 16 percent of the world’s population.

In low-income countries, up to 54 percent of blood transfusions are given to children under 5 years of age; whereas in high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is over 60 years of age, accounting for up to 76 percent of all transfusions.

Based on samples of 1000 people, the blood donation rate is 31.5 donations in high-income countries, 16.4 donations in upper-middle-income countries, 6.6 donations in lower-middle-income countries and 5.0 donations in low-income countries.

An increase of 10.7 million blood donations from voluntary unpaid donors has been reported from 2008 to 2018. In total, 79 countries collect over 90 percent of their blood supply from voluntary unpaid blood donors; however, 54 countries collect more than 50 percent of their blood supply from family/replacement or paid donors.

Only 56 of 171 reporting countries produce plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP) through the fractionation of plasma collected in the reporting countries. A total of 91 countries reported that all PDMP are imported, 16 countries reported that no PDMP were used during the reporting period, and 8 countries did not respond to the question.

The volume of plasma for fractionation per 1000 population varied considerably between the 45 reporting countries, ranging from 0.1 to 52.6 litres, with a median of 5.2 litres.

India’s eRaktKosh:eRaktKosh was Inaugurated by health minister JP Nadda during his first tenure as a union health minister in 2016. e-Rakt Kosh enforces Drug & Cosmetic Act, National blood policy standards and guidelines ensuring proper collection & donation, effective management and monitoring the quality and quantity of the donated blood. Considering the national roll out, e-Rakt Kosh has been developed with a modular and scalable approach with configurable rule based architecture allowing customization to easily incorporate specific requirements from nationwide stakeholders.

As per government data on e-Raktkosh, there are 47.81 lakh registered blood donors in India. The country requires an annual average of 146 lakh blood units. However, the data on e-Raktkosh shows that 45.99 lakh units of blood have been collected till date.

The health ministry has also asked States and UTs to promote a culture of regular blood donation among “the youth and the general public” and “to increase the diversity and sustainability of the blood donor pool”.