Nigeria seeks more voluntary blood donors for World Blood Donor Day

As the world prepares to observe World Blood Donor Day, the Director-General of Nigeria's National Blood Service Agency, Prof. Saleh Yuguda, is urging a significant increase in voluntary blood donations. The World Health Organization has set the theme for the 2026 campaign as “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives,” aiming to bolster global efforts for a safe and sustainable blood supply.

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The campaign seeks to drive sustained growth in regular, voluntary and unpaid blood donation worldwide, while raising awareness about the life-saving impact of blood and plasma donation.

Yuguda emphasized that the campaign's core objective is to foster sustained growth in regular, voluntary, and unpaid blood donations worldwide. He highlighted the life-saving impact of blood and plasma donation, noting that the initiative also serves to celebrate donors and promote the values of solidarity, compassion, and humanity.

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The campaign is designed to highlight the invaluable contributions of blood donors and promote the enduring values of solidarity, compassion and humanity that underpin blood donation.

The agency plans to increase support for national blood programs by encouraging governments and development partners to invest in these services. A key focus for the 2026 campaign will be community integration and grassroots engagement. Traditional institutions, community leaders, youth groups, and faith-based organizations will be involved to promote voluntary blood donation at the local level and cultivate a sense of community ownership over blood services.

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It will encourage governments, development partners and relevant stakeholders to strengthen and invest in national blood programmes in order to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion services.

This community-based approach aims to enhance public understanding of blood donation, address misconceptions, and establish sustainable donor pools to meet the nation's blood requirements. World Blood Donor Day, observed annually on June 14, recognizes voluntary donors and advocates for robust blood systems to meet transfusion needs for emergencies, maternal care, surgeries, and various medical conditions.

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Traditional institutions, community leaders, youth groups, faith-based organisations and local stakeholders will be actively engaged to domesticate the message of voluntary blood donation at the grassroots level and foster a stronger culture of community ownership of blood services.