SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – American Red Cross is conducting a [blood drive] on June 14, 2007, in celebration of World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). WBDD is designed to raise awareness of the need for safe blood around the world, to thank and honor those blood donors who make transfusion possible, and to encourage healthy, eligible individuals to give blood regularly.

World Blood Donor Day is celebrated annually on June 14 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood around the world, to thank and honor those blood donors who make transfusion possible, and to encourage healthy, eligible individuals to give blood regularly.

“The American Red Cross celebrates World Blood Donor Day by honoring blood donors for their important contributions within our community and encourages others to follow their example,” said Julia Wulf, CEO of the Lewis and Clark Blood Services Region.  “It is important to ensure that blood is available whenever and wherever it is needed.”   

Blood is needed in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities to care for patients with cancer and other diseases, for organ transplant recipients, and to help save the lives of accident and trauma victims.  As additional donor restrictions are implemented and the population ages, the United States and other countries could lose more and more willing donors, which could cause an even greater threat to our global blood supply.

While the need for blood is universal, access to blood for those who need it is not.  According to the four key partners of World Blood Donor Day (World Health Organization, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations and International Society of Blood Transfusion), women and children in low-income countries have the greatest need for blood. More than half a million women die every year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth – 99 percent of these deaths happen in developing countries. Hemorrhages account for 25 percent of complications and are the most common cause of maternal death. Up to 70 percent of all blood transfusions in Africa are given to children with severe anemia due to malaria, which accounts for about one in five of all childhood deaths in Africa.

The overwhelming majority of the world’s population does not have access to safe blood. Over 80 million units of blood are donated every year, but only 38 percent are collected in developing countries where 82 percent of the global population lives. In the United States, every two seconds someone needs blood. 

June 14 has been designated as World Blood Donor Day, not to replace events such as national blood donor days or months, but to provide a special opportunity for a united, global celebration. This is also a day that has particular significance in the world of blood banking – the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel Prize winner who discovered the ABO blood group system.

World Blood Donor Day seeks to create wider awareness of the importance of voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation and encourage more people to become regular blood donors.