Today is World Blood Donor Day

Every year on June 14, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD).

WBDD was established in 2004, to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.

The day is also marked to commemorate the birthday of Karl Landsteiner on 14 June in 1868, who was a great scientist who won the Nobel Prize for his great discovery of the ABO blood group system.

World Blood Donor Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day, and World AIDS Day.

The theme for this year is “Blood connects us all”, will focus on thanking blood donors for the selfless effort they make in donating blood, as well as highlighting the dimensions of “sharing” and “connection” between blood donors and patients.

World Blood Donor Day celebration brings a precious opportunity to all donors for celebrating it on national and global level.

Blood donation is one of the biggest gifts one can ever give someone, and would even not know who is sharing this wonderful token of health with.

What else can be more selfless than giving out a part of yourself for the well-being of another? No matter how intimidating the thought of the whole process may be, blood donation is an act of absolute virtue.

Donate a pint of blood today.

GBC’s News-desk report.