 Voluntary
Blood Donors
around the
world are the
lifeline of
the community
as blood
donated by
them is the
source of
safest blood
and blood
products.
Blood donation
by a voluntary
blood donor is
considered the
greatest gift
by one human
being to
another.
Non-remunerated
blood donation
is critical to
ensure
sustainable
and
high-quality
blood
services,
which are the
backbone for
the well
functioning
health system
in the world.
Blood donation
is also
beneficial for
the donor as
it not only
allows for a
free health
check up but
has also been
seen to reduce
risk of donors
to cancer and
heart attacks.
World Blood
Donor Day is
observed
globally on
the 14th June
every year,
the birthday
of Lord (Dr)
Karl
Landsteiner,
who won the
Nobel Prize
for
discovering
ABO blood
group system.
This day is
observed as an
occasion to
raise
awareness of
the problem
and thank
donors.
The theme for
this year’s
World Blood
Donor Day is
“Thank you for
saving my
life” and
encourages
people at
large to “Give
freely, give
often. Blood
donation
matters”.
The Red
Cross Movement
is uniquely
placed to
contribute to
improving the
safety and
accessibility
of the world’s
blood supply.
Having the
largest
humanitarian
network of
volunteers, we
have
considerable
experience
with volunteer
retention,
motivation and
support. The
Red Cross Red
Crescent has
more than 34
million blood
donors
globally.
Indian Red
Cross Society
has 166 blood
banks across
the country
and provides
for about 10%
of the total
blood
collected in
the country.
The blood bank
at the
National
Headquarters
of the Indian
Red Cross
Society
collects
approx. 30,000
units of blood
annually out
of which 90%
is collected
from voluntary
blood donors.
It organizes
more than 300
blood donation
camps.
This state of
art blood bank
serves about
50% of
thallassemic
children in
Delhi NCR and
85% of the
blood
collected is
given free of
charge for
patients of
the government
hospitals.
I hope that a
new generation
of motivated
voluntary
unpaid blood
donors will
form a pool
that will
provide the
safest blood
possible for
use whenever
it is needed
to save
life.
Recruiting and
retaining fit
and healthy
donors will
not only
improve the
long-term
safety and
sufficiency of
a country’s
blood supply,
but also
promote a safe
and healthy
life style
among
them.
On World Blood
Donor Day, I
wish to thank
all the
voluntary
blood donors
and the
Voluntary
blood donor
camp
organizers
connected with
the Indian Red
Cross, for
their gift of
life and hope
that they
continue to
motivate
others
especially the
youth to do
so. I also
wish to exhort
those unable
to donate for
any reason to
volunteer
their services
as advocates.
Dr
S P Agarwal
Secretary
General,
Indian Red
Cross Society
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