On June 14th, World Blood Donor Day takes place. The theme of this year’s event is “Blood connects us all.” The aim of World Blood Donor Day is to highlight the stories of those people whose lives were saved due to blood donation, to thank voluntary, unpaid donors and to encourage individuals to continue giving blood and donating to such a good cause.

Blood transfusions help to save the lives of millions of individuals on a daily basis. This small act can help to prolong the lives of individuals suffering with life-long conditions and give them the chance to lead a higher quality of life.

Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, the demand for blood transfusions exceeds the supply and gives health services the challenge of ensuring that sufficient blood supplies are made available. In order to ensure that we can keep doing this, World Blood Donor Day encourages individuals who are in good health to go out and give blood.

If you would like to donate blood or find out more information about whether you are eligible to donate, you can find a list of blood donor clinics and facts on www.giveblood.ie