TEHRAN – Observed on June 14 every year, World Blood Donor Day is a celebration to honor donors, an effort to raise awareness of the ongoing need for safe blood and blood products, and a call to action to inspire consistent and new voluntary blood donations to ensure the availability of safe, adequate blood supplies.

The day appreciates the millions of voluntary, unpaid blood donors whose generosity saves lives every day. Their contributions are essential to health systems everywhere, supporting patients during emergencies, childbirth, surgeries, cancer treatment, and the lifelong care of many serious conditions.

Themed ‘One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.’, This year’s campaign places humanity at the heart of every blood donation. It reminds everyone that each donation is more than a medical act: it is a powerful expression of solidarity, compassion, and collective responsibility. Inspired by the idea that the whole of humanity can be reflected in a single drop, the campaign highlights how every donor helps form a lifeline that connects and protects us all.

While advances in science, testing, and blood safety systems have made transfusion safer than ever, safe blood remains dependent on people willing to donate regularly and voluntarily. Yet many countries continue to face shortages and unequal access to safe blood and blood products, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.

The objectives of this year’s campaign are to drive sustained growth in regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donation worldwide; raise awareness of the life-saving impact of blood and plasma donation; highlight the vital contribution of blood donors and promote the values of solidarity and humanity; and encourage governments and partners to strengthen and invest in national blood programs to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion.

Together, we can help ensure that safe blood is available for everyone, everywhere, whenever it is needed.

Iran fostering blood donation culture

Around 1.7 percent of the country’s population donates blood regularly, and the blood donation index is 28 per 1,000 population.

To foster a culture of blood donation among the new generation, the Iran Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) launched a campaign in May to help children become familiar with the altruistic act of donating blood and to promote the culture of blood donation.

The campaign titled ‘Dad gave blood’ started concurrently with Teacher’s Day on Saturday, May 2, IBTO website quoted Mohammad Shahzade-Safavi, an official with the organization, as saying.

Inspired by beautiful shared childhood memories, the campaign aims to create a bond between past and new generations. ‘Dad gave water, and Dad gave bread’ are memorable sentences in textbooks in elementary school a few decades ago, which evoke great nostalgia, he noted.

The main objective of the campaign is to change the attitude of the future generation towards blood donation. ‘Dad gave blood’ reminds people of their social and human responsibilities, the IBTO intends to convey an important message to the new generation, said the official.

Highlighting the role of early childhood education in children’s social development, he said: “We aim to institutionalize the culture of blood donation in children.”

The campaign is planned to serve as a platform for interactions among families, teachers, and students, making blood donation a social responsibility and part of the culture.

According to Shahram Shekarchi, an official with the IBTO, the upper age limit for blood donation in the country has been lifted; therefore, there is no longer a limit for people over 65 years of age to donate blood.

The organization’s new guidelines have been developed based on the latest reliable scientific sources, and this decision has been made according to the criterion that blood donation is related to the donor’s health, not the donor’s age, IRNA quoted Shahram Shekarchi as saying on Monday.

Now, all people over 18 years of age can donate blood without any restrictions or age limits, Shekarchi clarified.

Emphasizing the importance of maintaining the quality of donated blood, he said: “There will be no change in the quality and health of blood of people over 65 years old because all donors are examined before donating blood.”

“Donors over 65 years of age are examined by doctors. Only if their health is confirmed will they be allowed to enter the blood donation process.”