Every year, on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products for patients in need.
The theme of this year's campaign is blood donation as an action of solidarity. It highlights the fundamental human values of altruism, respect, empathy and kindness which underline and sustain voluntary unpaid blood donation systems. We have adopted the slogan, "Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life", to draw attention to the roles that voluntary donation systems play in encouraging people to care for one another and generate social ties and a united community.
