World Blood Donor Day takes place on June 14 th each year. It serves to thank voluntary,
unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood and to raise global awareness of the
ongoing need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion. The day also serves to
highlight the essential contribution that blood donors make to national health care – which
is important in saving lives and improving other's health.
For 2022, the World Blood Donor Day slogan of the World Health Organisation is "Give
blood and keep the World beating". It is based on an initiative developed by the World
Health Organisation (WHO), the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Organisations
and initiated for the first time in 2005 to raise awareness of donating blood.
With this in mind, the St. Vincent & the Grenadines Medical Association, in collaboration
with the Staff of the MCMH Blood Bank will host a Special Blood Donor Drive on Saturday
June 11 and June 18 th , 2022 from 9am – 1pm at the Out Patient Department of the Milton
Cato Memorial Hospital to both raise awareness of the need for Blood donation and
receive Blood Donors at the Blood Bank.
The general public is hereby invited to actively participate in these events as our Blood
Bank is ALWAYS in need of donors. There are always patients who are in need of life-
saving blood.
Additional aims in this years’ campaign, is to rebuild our Registry of regular, committed
donors so that the Blood Bank is kept in full readiness year-round, to maintain adequate
supplies and achieve timely access for any eventuality – such as emergencies and disasters
to which our country is so vulnerable.
We would also like to Thank those persons who
have been regular donors over the years, and encourage the youth to embrace the
humanitarian Call to ACTION to Donate Blood and inspire others to do the same.
Eligible donors must be age 17 and over and weigh more than 110 pounds. Persons will be
medically evaluated to determine if they can be an immediate donor or they may arrange to
return at a later date, because that ONE pint of blood can be a lifesaver to as many as 3
(THREE) persons.
Giving Blood is a life-saving act of kindness and solidarity – and EVERY DROP COUNTS!!!
