The Director-General of the National Blood Service Agency, Prof. Saleh Yuguda, has called for increased voluntary blood donation as the world prepares to mark the 2026 World Blood Donor Day.
Yuguda announced that the World Health Organisation has adopted the slogan, “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives,” for this year’s global campaign.
In a message to stakeholders and partners on Tuesday, the NBSA boss extended compliments of the season and urged Nigerians to support efforts to boost voluntary blood donation nationwide.
According to him, the campaign is intended to strengthen global efforts to ensure a safe, sustainable and adequate blood supply through regular voluntary donations.
“The campaign seeks to drive sustained growth in regular, voluntary and unpaid blood donation worldwide, while raising awareness about the life-saving impact of blood and plasma donation,” Yuguda said.
He added that the initiative would also celebrate the contributions of blood donors and promote the values of solidarity, compassion and humanity that underpin blood donation.
“The campaign is designed to highlight the invaluable contributions of blood donors and promote the enduring values of solidarity, compassion and humanity that underpin blood donation,” he stated.
Yuguda further called on governments, development partners and other stakeholders to increase support for national blood programmes.
“It will encourage governments, development partners and relevant stakeholders to strengthen and invest in national blood programmes in order to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion services,” he said.
The NBSA boss disclosed that community integration and grassroots engagement would be a major focus of the 2026 campaign, with advocacy efforts extending beyond health institutions into communities across the country.
“Traditional institutions, community leaders, youth groups, faith-based organisations and local stakeholders will be actively engaged to domesticate the message of voluntary blood donation at the grassroots level and foster a stronger culture of community ownership of blood services,” he said.
He explained that the community-based approach is aimed at improving public understanding of blood donation, addressing misconceptions and building sustainable donor pools capable of meeting the nation’s blood requirements.
“The community-based approach is aimed at deepening public understanding of the importance of blood donation, dispelling misconceptions surrounding the practice, and building sustainable donor pools capable of supporting national blood needs,” Yuguda added.
World Blood Donor Day is observed annually on June 14 to recognise voluntary blood donors and advocate stronger blood systems capable of meeting transfusion needs for emergencies, maternal healthcare, surgeries and the treatment of various medical conditions.
The 2026 campaign is expected to mobilise governments, healthcare institutions, civil society organisations and citizens worldwide to embrace blood donation as a humanitarian act capable of saving millions of lives while expanding access to safe blood transfusion services.
