Today is World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), and the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is marking it with a social media campaign which will focus on donor and recipient stories.
The slogan for this years WBDD is "Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives." It is hoped that this slogan will draw attention to the roles that voluntary blood donations play in saving lives and enhancing solidarity within communities.
Paul McKinney, Operations Director of the IBTS commented on the campaign:
“The IBTS will mark WBDD 2022 with a social media campaign focusing on donor and recipient stories. Traditionally, there is a decline in attendance at clinics over the Summer months and we expect that to be more so this year given the pent up public desire to travel again post the Covid-19 pandemic. World Blood donor Day provides us with an opportunity to remind people that the demand for blood and blood products is constant.”
The IBTS are encouraging people who are eligible to donate blood to do so, as they need to collect approximately 3,000 donations a week in order to maintain national blood supply.
Statistics show that 1 in 4 Irish people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime, and that the most common blood group in Ireland is O positive.
