On 14 June 2011, countries worldwide will celebrate World Blood Donor Day with events to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
The theme for World Blood Donor Day 2011 is, "More blood. More life." This theme reinforces the urgent need for more people all over the world to become life-savers by volunteering to donate blood regularly.
Every year, countries throughout every region of the world organize a huge variety of events and activities to celebrate the day, from football matches to free concerts, and from mobile blood donation clinics to monumental decorations.
WHO and partners are encouraging communities everywhere to join the World Blood Donor Day 2011 campaign and “Paint the world red”, whether by symbolically colouring, covering or lighting monuments, popular landmarks and buildings in red; staging artistic, cultural or musical events with a red-coloured theme; or forming a "human blood drop" in prominent public places
