June 14 is the World Blood Donor Day, dedicated to honoring blood donors and encouraging nations and communities to recognize and celebrate the noble act of donating blood.
One of the key messages from the World Health Organization (WHO) is to express gratitude to blood donors—those who have brought happiness to hundreds of millions around the globe, along with their families and communities.
Blood is essential for transfusions in cases of acute blood loss and chronic anemia. Without timely blood transfusions, patients may face life-threatening situations. Blood is a precious medicine that can only be obtained from donors; it cannot be manufactured or replaced with any synthetic substance.
To thank and encourage voluntary blood donors, especially those who donate multiple times, in 2004, the WHO, the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Blood Transfusion Association, and the World Blood Donor Association designated June 14 to honor blood donors. This date also marks the birthday of Austrian professor Karl Landsteiner, who discovered the ABO blood group system in 1900, a significant advancement in the history of blood transfusion for humanity.
In 2024, June 14, World Blood Donor Day, marks a significant milestone, celebrating 20 years of this observance worldwide. With the message “20 Years of World Blood Donor Day: Thank You, Donors of Life!”, the WHO aims to express profound gratitude and recognition to blood donors and those who donate blood components globally.
Blood donors may include celebrities, important figures in society, or ordinary individuals. However, for patients, voluntary blood donors are truly the “heroes” because they give an invaluable gift to strangers. Thanks to these noble acts, hundreds of millions are saved each year through blood transfusions.
Blood donors quietly contribute their precious life-giving blood, offering hope, trust, and miraculous recovery to countless patients and their families. Not only do they donate regularly and repeatedly, but many also donate blood in emergencies caused by natural disasters, epidemics, and encourage others to join in.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan, Head of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation, affirmed: The 30-year journey of humanitarian blood donation is filled with love among people. Many lives have been revived and saved by receiving the warm, precious blood from compassionate hearts.
This year, from June 13 to 15, the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation will organize the Program “Honoring Exemplary Voluntary Blood Donors Nationwide” 2024. This annual event has been celebrated in our country since 2008 on the occasion of World Blood Donor Day on June 14 (it was not held in 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19). Over the past 16 years, 1,600 delegates from across the country have been selected for recognition, representing various professions, ethnicities, and ages. Among them are representatives from ethnic minorities, religions, remote areas, border regions, islands, families participating in voluntary blood donation, members of reserve blood donation clubs, and rare blood type clubs. Many are officials, members, volunteers of the Red Cross, and healthcare workers who have actively participated in and promoted voluntary blood donation, always ready to donate blood at any time and in any circumstance.
The exemplary individuals honored will serve as core advocates for the voluntary blood donation movement, inspiring and spreading the spirit of sharing and love to create thousands more shining examples of voluntary blood donation. This practice will become a beautiful aspect of social life, especially for the younger generation. Every citizen, every official, civil servant, armed forces member, and worker in agencies, units, and businesses, regardless of their position, should support, encourage, and accompany the voluntary blood donation movement.
