World Blood Donor Day 2014

The World Blood Donor Day 2014 will take place on June 14th with the slogan "Give Blood for those who give life. Safe Blood for Saving Mothers". The global host for this event is Sri Lanka, for the Americas, is Mexico. The primary objective is to raise public awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank donors for their contribution to saving lives.

Worldwide every year more than 500,000 women died during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, 99% of which occur in developing countries. An estimated 25% of these deaths are due to hemorrhage, the most common cause of maternal mortality and around 800 deaths will occur from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths occur in developing countries, more than half in sub-Saharan Africa and about one third in South Asia.

In Latin America and the Caribbean in 2011, there were approximately 4,400 maternal deaths per year, 15.3% (its represents around 676 deaths) of which are due to hemorrhaging, with varying ranges in countries ranging from 0% to 31%. The availability and access to safe blood and components from voluntary unpaid donors help save the lives of these women.

Blood transfusion has been identified as one of the eight key life-saving interventions in health centers that offer emergency obstetric care during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period.

The World Blood Donor Day 2014 aims to reinforce the job with Regional Governments about blood donation, to achieve 100% of non remunerated, voluntary donations, decrease maternal mortality caused by hemorrhage, motivate donors to keep donating blood regularly and encourage healthy people who have never donated blood to become donors.

The objective of the World Donor Day 2014 campaign will be that:

• Ministries of health, especially those with high maternal mortality, adopt measures to guarantee that their health centers improve access to safe blood and blood products from voluntary donors, for a safe motherhood.
• Blood national services of those countries who have high maternal mortality, focus their activities and products of their 2014 campaign in safe blood for mother's health.
• The mother's health alliances and programs participate in such campaign.
• WHO and worldwide associates explain how safe blood from voluntary donors allows saving pregnant women's lives worldwide.

Source: Pan American Health Organization