This World Blood Donor Day, Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) is encouraging locals to sign up, make a blood donation and bring a friend or family member to donate alongside with.
Every year, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The day celebrates donors and is meant to encourage blood donations and raise awareness of the need for blood. The World Health Organization’s theme for World Blood Donor Day this year is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.” This year, RIBC is encouraging everyone to donate blood and have it be a lifelong habit. The plea comes ahead of the critical summer months, when there is historically a dip in donations.
“World Blood Donor Day is a day in which we celebrate our donors and staff who make the selfless decision to help save lives in our community”, said Caitlin Grimaldi-Flick, Marketing and Communications Manager for Rhode Island Blood Center. “Our loyal donors played a pivotal role in helping us through the pandemic and now we are urging first time, young and lapsed donors to consider donating.”
The unprecedented health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a loss of more than 1,800 high school blood donations each year, as schools transitioned to remote learning and safety restrictions limited in-person gatherings. Prior to the pandemic, RIBC collected 6,000 blood donations each year from high school blood drives. This number has just begun to rebound with 4,541 high school donations in the 2022-2023 school year, an increase from the 2,702 donations collected in the 2021-2022 school year, but high school donations continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
“Youth blood donors are essential in helping us build and maintain a stable blood supply” Grimaldi-Flick added. “It takes less than an hour of your time and you will help save up to three lives. There is no substitute for blood and that person in need could someday be you.”
To make an appointment call 401.453.8383 or visit ribc.org.
