World Blood Donors Day on Tuesday

The Malta Blood Donors Association is marking World Blood Donors Day on Tuesday, with a number of activities. According to a spokesman, the objective is to create awareness and encourage more people to become regular donors.

The day is celebrated internationally each year to promote voluntary blood donation globally. This year's theme is "Celebrating your gift of blood", and will highlight true stories of people whose lives have been changed - in many cases saved - by blood.

World Blood Donors Day provides the opportunity to raise awareness of the need for blood and blood donors. Over 80 million units of blood are donated every year around the world, but only 39 per cent is collected in developing countries where 82 per cent of the global population lives.

The day will also highlight the fact that voluntary unpaid blood donors are the foundation of a safe blood supply because they are associated with significantly lower levels of infections that can be transmitted by transfusion, including HIV and hepatitis viruses. Screening for transfusion-transmissible infections is essential, but the safest donations come from the safest donors.

A reliable supply of safe blood is essential for scaling up health at several levels, particularly for women and children.

On Tuesday, the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel Prize Winner who discovered the ABO blood group system, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition will visit the Blood Transfusion Centre, Guardamangia, at 9.30.

At 10.45 Archbishop Mercieca (accompanied by seminarians) will visit the SMOM Blood Bank (located in St Philip's Hospital).

At 11.45 President Fenech Adami will visit the NBTC Mobile Unit (receiving donors at Church Square, Birkirkara).

Regular blood donors who donated blood 10, 25, 50 or 100 times will be invited to attend and meet dignitaries in recognition of their noble gesture towards mankind.