WHO: More voluntary blood donors needed

Note for media

12 June 2013 | GENEVA - On World Blood Donor Day, 14 June, WHO calls for all countries to obtain 100% of their supplies of blood and blood products from voluntary unpaid blood donors by 2020.

The need for blood and blood products is increasing every year, and many patients requiring life-saving transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood and blood products.

In 2011, nearly 83 million blood donations were collected worldwide from voluntary unpaid blood donors, an increase of close to 8 million donations from 2004.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2013/world_blood_donor_day_20130612/en/index.html