NYBC Marks World Blood Donor Day With Social Media Outreach

More Blood. More Life.

NEW YORK,  June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New York Blood Center (NYBC) will celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) June 14, 2011, with a social media campaign designed to educate and inform donors about activities in which they can participate to spread the word about the global benefits of blood donation.  Donors will be asked to post pictures of themselves donating in honor of WBDD, encouraging friends and family to follow their lead and become regular blood donors.

At NYBC donor centers across New York City, the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New Jersey, presenting donors who are Advantage Program members will receive 25 bonus Advantage points for donating on WBDD or anytime during the month of June.

"A stable base of voluntary blood donors who give regularly is the foundation of a safe and adequate blood supply," said NYBC Vice President Rob Purvis.  "With schools out, and many people going on vacation, World Blood Donor Day is a great opportunity for us to remind everyone about the importance of rolling up their sleeves and giving the gift of life."

The World Health Organization's (WHO) annual World Blood Donor Day honors the millions of people who give the precious gift of life through blood donation.  WBDD aims to recognize the critical need for more voluntary donors and to raise awareness of blood and blood product safety, especially in developing countries where quantities are very limited.

Held each year on June 14—the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the Nobel Prize winner who discovered the ABO blood group system—WBDD honors the important role of voluntary blood donors around the world whose generosity helps ensure sufficient supplies of the safest blood possible to save countless lives. The scope of WBDD events increases each year, and countries in every part of the globe celebrate with special events, social media campaigns, media broadcasts, and more—all dedicated to the selfless individuals who give the gift of life through blood donation. This year's host country is Argentina and the global event will take place in Buenos Aires with the theme, "More blood. More life."

To learn more about NYBC's activities in honor of WBDD, visit www.facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter. For more information about WBDD 2011, please visit www.who.int/worldblooddonorday.

About New York Blood Center: New York Blood Center (NYBC) is the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood center. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to hospitals since 1964, serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine. Please visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/newyorkbloodcenter. Follow us on Twitter: @NYBloodCenter at http://twitter.com/nybloodcenter.

Contact:  Rubenstein Associates
(212) 843-8026
[email protected]

SOURCE New York Blood Center