NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH – 1ST-31st January – A bit about National Blood Donor Month – The month of January is usually a period of critical blood shortages. People stop donating blood during the holidays and when they get sick during cold and flu season. Blood drives also get snowed out during the winter months.
More than 50 years ago — on December 31, 1969 — the president of the United States signed a proclamation designating January as National Blood Donor Month (NBDM). The new monthly observance was meant to honour voluntary blood donors and to encourage more people to give blood at a time when more blood is needed.
Throughout the decades, AABB marked NBDM with a series of activities that highlight the importance of blood donation. Follow AABB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to participate in our NBDM activities.
According to the World Health Organization, “blood is the most precious gift that anyone can give to another person — the gift of life. A decision to donate your blood can save a life, or even several if your blood is separated into its components — red cells, platelets and plasma.”
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH
- Donate not just in honor of National Blood Donor Month, but in the simple spirit of providing the stuff of life to those who need it most. Donate now. Donate again in eight weeks. Repeat.
- Inspire National Blood Donor Month can inspire people to donate. And those donations can in turn inspire others to donate, creating an exponential increase in blood donations when and where they’re needed the most.
- Learn and remember your blood type. What’s your blood type? Some examples: O positive donors are needed more often than other blood types. O negative donors are considered “universal donors.” AB positive donors are “universal recipients.”
One blood donation can save up to three lives.
Doing so ensures the availability of the nation’s blood supply for Veterans and patients in need. America’s Blood Centers – and its community blood centers around the country – depend on a diverse pool of donors of all ethnicities to maintain the nation’s blood supply to meet the needs of the one in seven patients entering a hospital that requires a blood transfusion.
While Veterans and active duty military members know the importance of blood donation, we ask that you help spread awareness of the need for blood donors among those who may not realize their own ability to impact patients throughout the U.S. Beginning this January with the arrival of National Blood Donor Month, the national community is encouraging all eligible individuals to commit to donating blood at least twice throughout 2022.
Blood shortages have become a national epidemic with communities throughout the U.S. experiencing these shortages more frequently and for prolonged periods of time nationwide due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time for you to make a difference.
If every eligible individual pledges and also follows through on donating blood at least one more time than they did in 2021, blood shortages would be eliminated. It is safe and easy to donate blood. All eligible individuals are encouraged to schedule an appointment to help maintain the nation’s blood supply for its availability whenever and wherever it is needed.
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