Campaign for World Blood Donor Day, 2019

Kim Yi-gyung, Kim Jun-nyun
Division of Blood Safety Surveillance, Center for Korean Network for Organ Sharing, KCDC

The first World Blood Donor Day was held on June 14, 2004, followed by its designation as an annual global event by the 58th World Health Assembly in January 2005. Each year, June 14 is now celebrated worldwide as World Blood Donor Day, to raise awareness for the importance of blood donation and to recognize the contribution of voluntary non-remunerated blood donors in saving lives and improving health. Moreover, World Blood Donor Day has another purpose: to create wider awareness, worldwide, regarding the need for the availability and appropriate use of safe blood and blood products, and the need for more people to commit to regular voluntary non-remunerated blood donation. June 14 is the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian biologist and physician, considered as the “founder” of modern blood transfusion.

Keywords: Blood Donors, Global Health, Blood transfusion, Remuneration, Awareness