June 14th: The Day Every Blood Donor is a Hero

If you are squeamish about blood, look away now.. 

2012 WBDD in Korea:
Photo from World Health Organization 

Today is the annual World Blood Donor Day, raising global awareness of the vital importance of giving blood. 2012's theme is 'Every blood donor is a hero', giving the due recognition and gratitude to voluntary unpaid blood donors across the world, and stressing the point that you really are saving someone's life in doing so. As Bram Stoker accentuated through the Daddy of all vampires in his novel Dracula, "The blood is the life". Now, obviously I am not placing blood donation and vampire culture on the same level, but it highlights the essential nature of blood. 
   June 14th is a significant date for blood. It is the birthday of Dr. Karl Landsteiner, the Austrian scientist who discovered the ABO blood group system in 1900, for which he won a Nobel prize. This is the same guy who identified the Rhesus factor in 1937, which allowed physicians to transfuse blood. Landsteiner's work has saved millions of lives worldwide, and proved the importance of organisations such as the National Health Service and other medical centres. What a guy.
   Did you know? In the U.K., 9000 pints of blood are needed every single day in order to meet demand. Only 6% of the eligible population of blood donors give blood. You can donate blood up to 3 times a year. Last year the British NHS collected 2.4 million litres of blood. Did you know that 96% of people have the WRONG attitude and are just relying on the 4% to save people's lives?

Sharing a Pint

This year's World Blood Donor Day is being hosted by the Republic of Korea, celebrating the success of blood donation, but also encouraging others to contribute to this excellent, life-saving cause. If you are eligible to donate, do it! What if your life could be saved by someone else's blood? Think about how thankful you would be to that person, and how amazing it would feel to be that person. So, even if you're a little squeamish about the whole idea, the implications and capabilities of that pint of blood would override that fear in a heartbeat. Also, you get a biscuit and some juice. Win-win situation!