World Blood Donor day 2022

Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives.

Every year on the 14th of June we celebrate World Blood Donor Day and thank our donors for giving blood, platelets and bone marrow to help save lives. The theme this year is  “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives” to draw attention to the roles that voluntary blood donations play in saving lives and enhancing solidarity within communities.

We take the time to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations.

The IBTS and Vodafone have a long standing partnership. Vodafone sponsor all the text messages that we send to donors encouraging them to give blood. About 6m texts are sent to donors annually about upcoming clinics, appointment reminders, and the hospital issue text that lets donors know where and when their blood donation is sent to a hospital to help a patient fighting serious illness. Watch the video below to see IBTS Chief Executive, Orla O'Brien and Vodafone Chief Executive, Ann O'Leary explain some more about this special partnership.

This year we are also sharing stories from Vodafone employees, who are also donors, across our social media platforms highlighting the amazing gift that each of these donors give, their motivation to keep giving blood and how this has a huge impact on the patients who receive these donations in hosptials across the country. 

Donor Stories: Aisling Dalton, Vodafone Ireland employee and blood donor

 “After my mum died, I wanted to ‘give back’ and giving blood was all I could really do. So many people are touched by cancer and a lot of people are not aware that cancer patients depend on IBTS over the course of their treatment.'

Donor Stories: Mairead Cullen, Vodafone Ireland employee and blood donor

"I gave my first donation many years ago (in the 80’s) when I was in college. IBTS came to the college and it was just easy to do. I lived in the UK and continued to donate. Unfortunately then for many years I couldn’t donate when I returned to Ireland but delighted that in recent years I could start donating again. I have donated in Vodafone pre-covid and more recently in local clinics in my area. I have always felt it was the right thing to do and I am privileged that I am well and healthy and able to do it. It is simple way to give back and I can do my bit within society. It is wonderful to receive the text messages from IBTS letting you know where and when your blood donation has been used, makes it very real and personal. As an aside I am Blood Type A RH neg so my blood is reasonably in demand so gave me more of an incentive to donate. I think it is great that Vodafone is working with you to promote blood donation, we are playing our part as a responsible corporate organisation in Ireland." - 

Donor Stories: Seán Gilligan, Vodafone Ireland employee and blood donor.

"When Covid began, I made a resolution to myself to donate as much as possible. I’ve been donating in the Stillorgan clinic ever since. I go every 90 days which is the minimum amount of days you can wait between donations. Last year my father-in-law was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He’s undergone a lot of severe surgeries and battled through countless infections, and other complications with chemo. He has certainly had his fair share of scares but has been a grateful recipient of many blood transfusions in recent times. I’m happy to say, as of last month, he has completed his last session of chemotherapy and is recovering in leaps and bounds!"

Donor Stories: Ronan Kelly Vodafone Ireland employee and blood donor.

“My name is Ronan and I’ve been a donor since I was 18. I wanted to get involved in blood donation since I was a small child and was very excited when I was finally old enough to donate. I had heard of the great work that the IBTS does and wanted to help out in any way that I could. Since my first donation, I have always had a great experience in any of the clinics I’ve attended around the country. The staff are lovely and are always on hand to help! There’s no better feeling than receiving a text to see where your donation has been used. It really shows how much of a difference we can make thorough being a blood donor. I highly encourage anyone who is eligible to donate get involved and become a blood donor. It is something that I’m very proud of and I’d love to see more people participating!”. 

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Donor Stories: Lorcan Bell Vodafone Ireland employee and blood donor.

"I had thought about doing until the IBTS hosted a donation event in our office and my friend suggested I consider it. I signed up and found the process to be straightforward and very rewarding. At the time I did not expect to become a regular donor but having learned about the great work that the IBTS do and the positive impact that blood donations have, I have been visiting my local clinic ever since; it is always a pleasant and positive experience. "

If you would like to promote blood, platelet and bone marrow donation in your local community please visit our Community Support Pack page to download some resources to share with family and friends. Helping us to spread the word about the importance of blood donation.