Give blood
and keep the world
beating
14/15 June
2021
World Blood Donor Day is an annual international event to pay tribute to all unpaid voluntary donors for their gift while raising people’s awareness on the importance of regular donations in order to secure high-quality blood and blood components for use in the healthcare system.
World Blood Donor Day was established in 2005 by the World Health Organization and is celebrated around the world on June 14, a day that marks the birth of Karl Landsteiner, the man who discovered blood types and co-discovered the Rh factor. World Blood Donor Day also provides an opportunity for citizens, governments and health authorities to become more aware about the need to strengthen the blood donation network.
In 2021, at the initiative of the Ministry of Health, the Italian National Blood Centre and the main Blood Donor Associations (AVIS, Italian Red Cross, FIDAS and Fratres), the WHO selected Italy to host the “World Blood Donor Day Global Event” in Rome on June 14 and 15, 2021.
A virtual meeting that opens the doors to the world
“EVERY YEAR, WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH DONATING BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS.”
For Italy, the 2021 edition will be doubly special. Firstly, because we will be the ones hosting the global event. Of course, we would have loved to hug and welcome you personally to our beautiful Country but unfortunately the pandemic emergency obliges us to hold our event in remote. Nonetheless, we want it to be an opportunity to listen to the many voices and share with you the everyday life experiences of our blood collection system, which is based on voluntary, regular, anonymous, and non-remunerated donations and also on the pivotal role of Blood Donor Associations and Federations. Moreover, the 2021 edition will be special also because it will be the first WBDD Global Event since the onset of the Covid-19 emergency and the perfect time in which to pay homage to those who have been giving blood and plasma to save human lives when the days were marked by fear and uncertainty.
I hope that our feelings are shared globally because, even if it is organised here in Italy, World Blood Donor Day is first and foremost a global event, as proven by the active engagement of all the core organisations – the WHO, the ISBT, the FIODS, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – that we thank for having given life to a Day of global importance such as this. The restrictions dictated by the pandemic will enable us, for the very first time, to offer all the events that we have organized to celebrate WBDD 2021 in live streaming.
So, all I can do for now is to ask you to Save the Date to celebrate World Blood Donor Day 2021 on 14 and 15 June.”
