Lahore (APP): World Blood Donor Day is being celebrated across the globe today (Wednesday) to raise awareness on the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
This year’s theme of World Blood Donor Day 2017 is ‘Give blood, Give now, Give often’.
World Health Organization (WHO) stated that blood donation by one percent of the population can meet a nation’s most basic requirements for blood.
Around 112.5 million blood donations collected globally and approximately half of these are collected in high-income countries.
In low-income countries, up to sixty-five percent of blood transfusions are given to children under five years of age whereas in high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is over sixty-five years of age, accounting for up to seventy-six percent of all transfusions.
Based on samples of thousand people, the blood donation rate is thirty-two point one donations in high-income countries, fourteen point nine donations in upper-middle-income countries, seven point eight donations in lower-middle-income countries and four point six donations in low-income countries.