Blood demand and supply: Can world blood donor day theme support?

Dear Sir,

Every second, patients need blood transfusion due to a specific disease or massive blood loss. Blood centers or banks are the places where blood for transfusion is available. They depend on the blood collected from donors. However, the demand is so high that they are not able to balance the blood demand and supply. Some of it can be blamed on a lack of awareness of blood donations.^[1]

In the current scenario, nationally patients need 38,000 blood units per day but only 50% of demands can be fulfilled by voluntary blood donations.^[2] This demand and supply gap is (2.5 donations/1000 eligible persons) and people felt its brunt more so during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Donors avoided visiting hospitals and blood centers during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent themselves from getting a COVID-19 infection.^[3]

Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the world celebrate Dr. Karl Landsteiner’s birthday on June 14 as world blood donor day (WBDD) to motivate the blood donation movement and encourage people to repeat, regular, and voluntary blood donation to fulfill the need for the blood supply. Every year, the WHO announces newer themes for WBDD. The year 2022 theme was “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives” and the year 2023 theme is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”^[4,5]

After announcing the theme, organizations celebrate the WBDD through ceremonies and functions but to this single day, blood donations have not been enough to fulfill the gap between demand and supply. WBDD is just a symbol for a day for a donation. As per the Indian blood donation guidelines, adult healthy male and female donors can donate after 90 days and 120 days for whole blood donation, respectively.^[6] Many people donate once a year only on the occasion of the WBDD. This donation can satisfy, you that you did something but it’s just not enough.

We have to motivate and recruit new young and healthy donors on this day. After recruitment and joining the blood donor movement, all have to continue this noble work till he/she is able to do it.^[7] WBDD theme is not a single day but it is for a whole year and life. We all have to understand and donate blood. The single line “I donate blood, have you?” give motivational feelings to the other people remarkably.

Each and every human has to understand the meaning behind the WBDD theme. If we stand together to save our humanity, maybe tomorrow will be the day when no one has to stand for us to save ourselves. Hence, we appeal to all humans who are prospective blood donors, please feel the feeling behind the blood donation and make this thing your passion of life. Serve humanity till you are humans.