World Blood Donor Day is celebrated every year by people around the world on June 14, the birthday anniversary of Karl Landsteiner who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the ABO blood group system. Dr. Landsteiner was born in Austria and emigrated to the United States of America in 1923. His background was in biology, and he was a physician and immunologist. He worked at the Rockefeller Institute.

World Blood Donor Day was organized in 2004 for the first time to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank donors for their voluntary life-saving gifts of blood. Transfusion of blood and blood products helps to save millions of lives each year and improve the quality of life of individuals who rely on blood and blood products to live.

To learn more about donating blood, plasma, stem cells, or organ/tissue donation go to blood.ca.  You can book online appointments to donate by choosing Charlottetown as your site.