Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation
Key publications
Safe blood donors are the cornerstone of a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products. The safest blood donors are voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors from low-risk populations. Despite this, family/replacement and paid donors, which are associated with a significantly higher prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) including HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and Chagas disease, still provide more than 50% of the blood collected in developing countries. WHO advocates and recommends to its Member States to develop national blood transfusion services based on voluntary non-remunerated regular blood donation in accordance with World Health Assembly resolution 28.72, which was adopted in 1975.
The key to recruiting and retaining safe blood donors is good epidemiological data on the prevalence (and incidence, where possible) of infectious markers in the general population to identify low-risk donor populations coupled with an effective donor education, motivation and recruitment strategy to recruit new voluntary non-remunerated blood donors from these populations. A pleasant experience during blood donation, good donor care and effective communication between blood centre staff and blood donors are all important factors for the retention of safe blood donors.
WHO has developed a set of simple guidelines designed to assist those responsible for blood donor recruitment in resource poor settings to develop and implement a programme to improve communication with blood donors. These guidelines provide approaches for setting up a communication programme – organizing, collecting information, and developing plans; as well as providing ideas that individual centres might consider for recruiting, educating and retaining safe donors.
Elements and activities in promoting voluntary non-remunerated blood donation include
- National blood donor programme for the education, recruitment and retention of low-risk blood donors, including community-based voluntary blood donor organizations and youth programmes;
- Appointment of an officer responsible for the national blood donor programme to include donor education, motivation, recruitment and retention;
- Training of donor recruitment and donor care staff in donor education, motivation, recruitment, selection and retention;
- Development of partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, such as national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, voluntary blood donor organizations, national service organizations and the media
- Identification of donor populations at low risk for transfusion-transmissible infections and development of strategies to promote positive attitudes towards voluntary blood donation;
- Development of donor education and recruitment materials;
- Educational and media campaigns in workplaces, communities and educational institutions;
- Establishment and maintenance of a database/register of donor records;
- Guidelines and protocols for donor selection and deferral, donor confidentiality and donor care;
- Guidelines on the management of donor sessions and blood collection;
- Monitoring of TTIs in donor population;
- Training of staff in pre- and post-donation counseling;
- Donor notification and referral for counseling;
- Monitoring and evaluation of the blood donor programme.
Activities and Success stories
WHO, in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies (IFRCRCS), the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (FIODS) and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) sponsors World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) which is held on 14 June. This event, which is celebrated around the world, is designed to create wider awareness of the importance of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation and encourage more people to donate blood regularly. The aim of the day is to thank those individuals who voluntary donate their blood without any reward except feeling personal satisfaction about helping to save someone's life.
Following the success of World Health Day 2000, which had the theme “Blood Saves Lives. Safe Blood Starts with me”, the first World Blood Donor Day was held on 14 June 2004 and was celebrated in over 70 countries. In 2005, nearly 100 countries throughout the world participated in activities to celebrate and thank voluntary blood donors.
In May 2005, at the Fifty-Eighth Session of the World Health Assembly, 192 Member States of the World Health Organization adopted resolution WHA58.13 to establish World Blood Donor Day as an annual event, to be celebrated each year on 14 June. In adopting the resolution, they reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring a safe and adequate blood supply that is accessible to all patients who require transfusion and is used in the most rational manner to avoid unnecessary transfusions.
This year's World Blood Donor Day will focus on commitment: commitment from healthy individuals to become regular voluntary unpaid blood donors, commitment from existing voluntary donors to continue to donate regularly and commitment by blood transfusion services and partner organizations to provide the highest standards of care at every stage of the transfusion process - from the collection of blood from the donor to its transfusion to the patient.
Each year, in a wave of global solidarity, organizations and community groups around the world hold a rich variety of events on and around World Blood Donor Day to complement their ongoing activities. As groups active in voluntary blood donation often join forces on the Day to make their messages reach far and wide to achieve maximum impact, these events are often a catalyst for long-term collaboration and communication with communities and potential blood donors. It is expected that World Blood Donor Day 2006 will set a new record for participating countries and organizations.
A global event is also held on 14 June each year to provide a focus for an international media campaign on World Blood Donor Day; the 2006 event will be held in Bangkok, hosted by the National Blood Centre, Thai Red Cross Society, which is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Training in Blood Transfusion Medicine.
Club 25: reaching young blood donors
WHO, in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS), has played a leading role in promoting the wider application of the Pledge 25/Club 25 peer education and promotion programmes pioneered in Zimbabwe and South Africa in which young people aged 18–25 pledge to give 20 donations of blood before the age of 25 and to lead healthy lifestyles to protect both themselves and the recipients of their blood from HIV and other infectious agents. WHO has supported pilot projects in Botswana, India, Indonesia, Uganda and Zambia. For more information on Club 25 initiatives,
