A trasfer of blood or blood components from one donor(individual person) to another (recepient of blood) is known as blood transfusion. It can be a life saving procedure, and health services are challenged to maintain an adequate supply of safe blood, and to ensure that it is used appropriately.

There are several reasons as to why a person should donate blood to someone else. It is mainly because safe blood helps to save lives and improve health. Blood transfusion is needed for women with complications of pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies and haemorrhage before, during or after childbirth. Also it is really important for children with severe anaemia often resulting from malaria or malnutrition. People with severe trauma following accidents and many surgical and cancer patients are among people who are in need of blood transfusions.

Apart from these people blood transusion is also very much needed for people with conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease on a regular basis. This means that such people needs a regular blood transfusions. Also it is used to make products such as clotting factors for people with haemophilia.

Since blood can be stored for only a limited time before use, there is a always a constant need for regular blood supply. If blood is donated regularly by a sufficient number of healthy people, it ensures that safe blood will be available whenever and wherever it is needed.

The most precious gift that anyone can gove to another person is Blood, it is the gift of life. A single life, or even several can be saved by your decision to donate your blood.Iif your blood is separated into its components; red cells, platelets and plasma, it can be used individually for patients with specific conditions and save several lives.

Here are some facts and figures on global blood safety and availability from the 2007 Blood Safety Survey.
- 65% of all blood donations are made in developed countries, home to just 25% of the world's population.
- In 73 countries, donation rates are still less than 1% of the population (the minimum needed to meet basic needs in a country). Of these, 71 are either developing or transitional countries.
- 42 countries collected less than 25% of their blood supplies from voluntary unpaid blood donors, which is the safest source.
- 31 countries still reported collecting paid donations in 2007, more than 1 million donations in total.
- 41 countries were not able to screen all blood donations for one or more of the following transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs)–HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis.

While the need for blood is universal, there is a major imbalance between developing and developed countries in the level of access to safe blood. It is estimated that donation by 1% of the population (10 per 1000 population) is generally the minimum needed to meet a nation's most basic requirements for blood; the requirements are higher in countries with more advanced health-care systems.

Types of blood donation

There are three types of blood donation: voluntary, unpaid donations, family/replacement donations, and paid donations. Donors who give blood voluntarily and for altruistic reasons have the lowest prevalence of HIV, hepatitis viruses and other blood-borne infections, as compared to people who donate for family members or in lieu of payment. Sufficient supplies of safe blood can only be assured by regular donations from voluntary unpaid donors. The 2007 data reveal some improvements in such donations worldwide, but many developing and transitional countries still rely heavily on relatively unsafe family/replacement donors and paid donors.

Therefore since blood transfusion is an important element of health care, The World Health Assembly has declared that 14 June of every year would be marked as World Blood Donor Day. This is to create awareness among people on how important it is to voluntarily donate blood and encourage others to do so.

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