- To raise awareness about this life-saving procedure, World Blood Donor Day was observed every year on 14th June.
- The day is marked to promote blood donation and urges people to save lives by donating blood.
- The World Blood Donor Day was organised for the first time in 2005.
- It is the joint initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
- World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Karl Landsteiner, who was born on 14 June 1868.
- Landsteiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his discovery of the ABO blood group system, the modern system of classification of blood groups.
- This discovery enabled physicians to conduct blood transfusion without risking the life of the patient.
- For 2021, the World Blood Donor Day slogan will be “Give blood and keep the world beating”.
- The message highlights the essential contribution blood donors make to keeping the world pulsating by saving lives and improving others’ health.
- A special focus of this year’s campaign will be the role of young people in ensuring a safe blood supply.
