Safe blood saves lives
The campaign theme for this year’s World Blood Donor Day is “Safe blood saves lives” with the slogan “Give blood and make the world a healthier place”. The idea is to focus on the contribution an individual giver can make to improve health for others in the community. Blood donations are needed all over the world to ensure individuals and communities have access to safe and quality-assured blood and blood products in both normal and emergency situations. Through the campaign, we call on more people all over the world to become life-savers by volunteering to donate blood regularly.
The goals of celebrating this day are:
- to celebrate and thank individuals who donate blood and to encourage those who have not yet donated blood to start donating;
- to highlight the need for committed, year-round blood donation, to maintain adequate supplies and achieve universal and timely access to safe blood transfusion;
- to focus attention on the contribution donors make to the entire community as a critical factor in improving health;
- to demonstrate the need for universal access to safe blood transfusion and provide advocacy on its role in the provision of effective health care and in achieving the goal of universal health coverage;
- to mobilize support at national, regional and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programmes.
Facts about the Blood Donation Process
- Donating blood is safe. A new sterile needle is used once for each donor, then discarded;
- After registration, a medical history is taken;
- Blood donors get a “mini-physical”: temperature, blood pressure, and pulse are monitored, and hemoglobin is screed, to make sure the donor can give blood safely;
- The entire process of donating blood, from registration through refreshments, takes about an hour;
- The actual donation process only takes 10 to 15 minutes;
- A healthy blood donor can donate red blood cells every 56 days, or can donate plasma every 7 days (with a limit of 24 times a year);
- All donated blood is tested for hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis and other infectious diseases.
Fun facts:
- Every two seconds, someone needs blood
- 38% of the population is eligible to donate; only 10% actually donate
- 1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives
GIVE BLOOD AND MAKE THE WORLD A HEALTHIER PLACE!
