World Blood Donor Day

World Blood Donor Day is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is celebrated around the world on June 14 every year. WHO has distinctively selected the date since it commemorate the birthday of Karl Landsteiner (June 14, 1868), the Nobel prize Austrian biologist and physician for his historical discovery of ABO blood group system.

World Blood Donor Day was officially established by the WHO in year 2004 to motivate all the countries worldwide to thank blood donors for their noble act and to promote voluntary, safe and unpaid blood donations to ensure the sufficient blood supplies.

National event

In parallel to the worldwide events, National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) of Sri Lanka celebrate World Blood Donor Day annually, to felicitate voluntary non remunerated donors and the voluntary blood donation campaign organisers who contribute to 90% of the annual Blood collection.

Along with the main event, Donor Health Care program was held on June 11 and an Art competition and exhibition was organized with the participation of the schoolchildren island wide.

In addition, island wide Blood Donor Day celebrations were organised by the 96 Hospital based blood banks scattered over 19 Regional cluster centres of NBTS covering the whole island.

Some facts about the NBTS

National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) of Sri Lanka is dedicated to the provision of blood and blood products and related laboratory, clinical, academic and research services.

NBTS functions as a centrally co-ordinated system. It comprises a network of 96 hospital based blood banks which are affiliated to 19 Cluster Blood Centers island wide. The National Blood Center (NBC), located in Colombo, functions as the main operational centre.

Along its pathway towards success, NBTS Sri Lanka has received recognition both nationally and internationally.

While transfusion services all over the world are moving forward with advanced technologies to assure the safety and quality of the blood products, NBTS Sri Lanka also has absorbed state of the art technologies to its system.

Taking all the efforts to provide quality assured blood and blood products to the nation, NBTS declared the achievement of 100% blood collection through a voluntary, non remunerated donor base.

- National Blood Transfusion Service.