It is being recognized to bring issues to light about saving lives through blood donations. Every year many individuals all around the world choose to give blood and plasma; this is the justification for why it has been known as World Blood Donor Day.
When is World Blood Donor Day Celebrated?
World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on 14 June consistently. There are several reasons why people take part in blood donation events like World Blood Donor Day every year. In the first place, it is a method for saving the existence of many individuals who are impacted by infections and conditions.
Also, by giving blood, these patients will want to proceed with their clinical treatment, which will allow them better opportunities to endure the illness. However, this does not mean that they have to give up their drugs or medication – they can always choose to withdraw from them if they are uncomfortable about taking them.
Safe blood and blood products and their transfusion are critical aspects of care and public health. They save millions of lives and improve the health and quality of life of many patients every day.
The need for blood is universal, but access to blood for all those who need it is not. Blood shortages are particularly acute in developing countries. To ensure that everyone who needs safe blood has access to it, all countries need voluntary, unpaid donors who give blood regularly.
Importance of Blood Donation
The importance of donating blood is not only to save the lives of thousands of people who are deprived of life but also to save the lives of many more who are affected by various diseases and help them to fight numerous illnesses.
It has also been seen that when people have donated their blood, they have to gain many health benefits. Most of the people who donate their blood tend to recover fast from their diseases and even live a longer life, it also helps in weight loss, maintaining healthy liver and iron levels, and reducing the risk of heart attack and cancer.
Why is World Blood Donor Day Celebrated?
World Blood Donor Day aims to raise awareness regarding the need for regular blood donations, the importance to keep the health industry with a stable supply, and to celebrate the hard work of medical professionals that work in the research and development of new technology and uses for donated blood, as well as medical teams who use blood regularly. This day is also used to thank donors for their service and determination to save lives and make the world a better place.
The day also provides an opportunity to call to action governments and national health authorities to provide adequate resources and put into place systems and infrastructures to increase the collection of blood from voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors.
History of World Blood Donor Day
The history of blood donation goes far back, with the first transfusions done using poorly understood science and very early research. But it wasn’t until Richard Lower was the first one to examine the science of blood donation with animals. He managed to successfully transfuse blood between two dogs with no appreciable ill effects.
And the science that surrounded the topic of blood slowly developed from that point, breaking taboos and moving from animal experimentation. From progress in transfusion technology to Karl Landsteiner discovering the ABO human blood type system to best determine donors, blood transfusions quickly became a staple in health topics and the medical field.
Following on from the success of World Health Day in the year 2000, which focused on blood donation and the safety of transfusions, ministers of health from all across the world made a unanimous declaration in May 2005, during the 58th World Health Assembly, to designate World Blood Donor Day is an annual event held on every June 14, choosing Landsteiner’s birthday to commemorate it.
How is World Blood Donor Day Celebrated?
On this day, volunteers, including people from various nations of the globe, give blood, and plasma to help individuals out of luck. If you are one of the people who need to help and can’t carve out the opportunity to partake in blood transfusion and plasma donations, then you can make up for it by sharing your blood. This is the easiest way to help out other people during World Blood Donor Day.
If you live in an area that requires more blood, you could also go out canvassing on behalf of your local blood donation group. Often something as simple as posting leaflets through the doors of those in the local community can encourage people to come forward.
World Blood Donor Day is, therefore, one of the most important public health events on the calendar. It affirms the hard work of those early blood transfusion pioneers and encourages people to get out and give.
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