Every year, June 14 is celebrated as World Blood Donor Day in order to raise awareness about blood donation, since its inception in 2005. The World Blood Donor Day event is one of eight global public health campaigns led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and serves to "thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood."

World Blood Donor Day is also celebrated to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure that all individuals and communities across boundaries have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood. This year, the host country for World Blood Donor Day 2019 is Rwanda and the theme for World Blood Donor Day 2019 is 'Safe blood for all'.