On World Blood Donor Day, held on Friday, June 14, Blood Bank of Delmarva joined the rest of New York Blood Center Enterprises, WHO, and its partners across the world in celebrating the theme: 20 years of celebrating giving: thank you blood donors!
The 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day is an excellent and timely opportunity to thank blood donors across the world for their life-saving donations over the years and honor the profound impact on both patients and donors. It is also a timely moment to address continued challenges and accelerate progress toward a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.
This includes not just thanking donors, but also making a concerted effort to recruit more young and first-time donors into the fold. (Secret Phrase: SAVE)
“If I were to ask local residents how many of you have gone to the Italian Festival or gone to the beach, a lot of people would raise their hands,” BBD Executive Director Steve Corse said in an interview with Channel 6ABC Action News. “But if I were to ask how people donate blood, the number of hands going up would be a lot less.
“World Blood Donor Day is about raising awareness about the need for more people to donate, especially our young people,” he said. “With school out for the summer, we’re not having high school and college blood drives anymore, and we have to find other ways to get those young people in here.”
World Blood Donor Day also happened to be when John Nanni made his 400th platelet donation.
“It’s my way of giving back since 12 people saved my life in 2006 when I needed eight pints of whole blood and four units of platelets during a triple bypass surgery,” Nanni said. “If you can, please consider donating. Blood cannot be synthetically made. There is no substitute for donated blood.”
A parade of Blood Bank of Delmarva leadership and associates congratulated Mr. Nanni for his milestones. That included Executive Director, of Blood Operation Steve Corse; Director, Quality Margaret Hannan, Manager, Quality Margeret Russ; Senior Director of Laboratories Kristin Frederick; IT Sr. Database Engineer Curt Rissmiller; Marketing Coordinator Vaishnav Hari; and Communications Specialist Tony Prado.
