Blood Donation – Facts and Figures

This year, World Blood Donor Day will once again be celebrated around the world on 14 June, with the theme “Safe blood for all”. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products, as an integral part of universal health coverage and a key

Key facts

• Of the 117.4 million blood donations collected globally, 42% of these are collected in high-income countries, home to 16% of the world’s population.
• In low-income countries, up to 52% of blood transfusions are given to children under 5 years of age; whereas in high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is over 65 years of age, accounting for up to 75% of all transfusions.
• Based on samples of 1000 people, the blood donation rate is 32.6 donations in high-income countries, 15.1 donations in upper-middle-income countries, 8.1 donations in lower-middle-income countries and 4.4 donations in low-income countries.
• An increase of 11.6 million blood donations from voluntary unpaid donors has been reported from 2008 to 2015. In total, 78 countries collect over 90% of their blood supply from voluntary unpaid blood donors; however, 58 countries collect more than 50% of their blood supply from family/replacement or paid donors.
• Only 50 of 173 reporting countries produce plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP) through the fractionation of plasma collected in the reporting country. A total of 83 countries reported that all PDMP are imported, 24 countries reported that no PDMP were used during the reporting period, and 16 countries did not respond to the question.

Key message

• The world needs enough safe blood for everyone in need.
• Every few seconds, someone, somewhere, needs blood.
• Transfusions of blood and blood products save millions of lives every year.
• Health is a human right; everyone in the world should have access to safe blood transfusions, when and where they need them.
• Regular blood donations are needed all over the world to ensure individuals and communities have access to safe and quality-assured blood and blood products.
• Everyone who can donate blood should consider making regular voluntary, unpaid donations, so that all countries have adequate blood supplies.
• Ensuring the safety and well-being of blood donors is critical; it helps build commitment to regular donations.
• Access to safe blood and blood product is essential for universal health coverage and a key component of effective health systems.

• Blood and blood products are essential to care for:
  • women with pregnancy and childbirth associated bleeding;
  • children with severe anaemia due to malaria and malnutrition;
  • patients with blood and bone marrow disorders, inherited disorders of haemoglobin and immune deficiency conditions;
  • people with traumatic injuries in emergencies, disasters and accidents; and
  • patients undergoing advanced medical and surgical procedures.
• The need for blood and blood products is universal, but access to safe blood and blood products varies greatly across and within countries.
• In many countries, it is challenging for blood services to make sufficient blood and blood products available, while also ensuring its quality and safety.

• Governments, national health authorities and national blood services must work together to:
  • ensure systems and infrastructure are in place to increase collection of blood from voluntary, regular unpaid donors;
  • establish and strengthen quality assurance systems for blood and blood products to ensure safe blood and blood products;
  • provide quality donor care;
  • promote and implement appropriate clinical use of blood; and
  • oversee the whole chain of blood transfusion.

Credit – WHO

Donate blood today to save a life someday

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