January is National Blood Donor Month
Dr. Amit Arwindekar, Medical Director, North America
Every month, blood transfusions help save countless lives and improve people’s health. However, many patients requiring transfusions are denied timely access to safe blood because of shortages, especially during January. Amid the end-of-year holidays, people are often too busy to donate blood or pause doing so due to becoming ill during the cold and flu season.
Because of this annual shortage, January serves as National Blood Donor Month in the United States, honoring blood donors and encouraging people to give during this time of year.1
One blood donation can save up to three lives.2 However, these life-saving donations are not made equally throughout the world. Of the over 118 million blood donations collected globally each year, 40% are gathered in high-income countries, home to only 16% of the world’s population.3 In low- and middle-income countries, the localized shortages particularly impact women and children as they tend to be the people who need donated blood most.4
Donated blood has a short shelf life, so the supply needs to be constantly replenished. Plus, it takes up to three days for blood to be tested, processed, and made available for patients.1
For our part, the UnitedHealthcare Global United for Giving program encourages employees to support the causes they are most passionate about through volunteerism and contributions. In addition to matching donations — dollar for dollar — to the community organizations of their choice, we also support and reward employee community service, including participating in blood drives as organizers and donors.
During National Blood Donor Month, join us in honoring the voluntary blood donors you know, help spread the word about the ongoing need and encourage people to participate in local blood donation opportunities to strengthen their communities, support local health systems and save lives.
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Sources:
1: https://www.aabb.org/for-donors-patients/national-blood-donor-month
2: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319366
3: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blood-safety-and-availability
4: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-blood-donor-day/2022
