National Volunteer Blood Donor Month – Jan. 1, 2027

Expected National Volunteer Blood Donor Month Deals

Throughout National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, the focus shifts from commercial deals to life-saving donations and awareness campaigns. Organizations like the American Red Cross, AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies), and America’s Blood Centers lead the charge, often partnering with corporations for donation matching programs or employee blood drives. Many local blood centers offer small tokens of appreciation, like gift cards or t-shirts, to donors. Financial institutions and local businesses may also run special promotions or offer incentives to encourage community participation in blood drives. We will update this page with confirmed live drives and related initiatives as January approaches, but the most impactful ‘deal’ is the opportunity to save a life by donating blood.

History of National Volunteer Blood Donor Month

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood from an external source into the blood intravenously. This process started in 1628 when William Harvey discovered the process of the circulation of blood. He reached the hypothesis that blood from a donor can help someone who needs it. The first successful blood transfusion was performed by Dr. Philip Syng Physick in 1795. Since then, as advancements were made in medical science, the techniques of blood transfusion have evolved.

With the blood transfusion technique now possible, the entire 19th century was more or less spent on making more investigative analyses instead of actually using this process to save lives.

It was not until 1914 when World War I broke out that there was a massive need for volunteers to donate blood to save injured soldiers. The same situation occurred during the Second World War, but during this time, the world was slightly prepared as organizations such as the Red Cross played a very important role in saving lives and treating the injured soldiers in war-hit areas.

In the U.S., the American Red Cross society was formed in 1881 and worked in various parts of the country. During World War II, the American Red Cross expanded its operations and service areas to different parts of the world. With this, they started the National Volunteer Blood Donation Month campaign in 1971 to first build awareness about the need to donate blood to save lives. Later, the focus shifted from building awareness to spreading the information on how donating blood is beneficial for both the donor and receiver. Sometime in the 1990s, the focus shifted again to raising awareness on why blood donation is essential because the number of volunteers dropped.

Recently, a study has revealed that around 38,000 blood donations are needed every day. This means that there are around the same number of people suffering from blood or blood-related diseases or conditions every day, and that there are very few volunteers for this noble service. The A.R.C. reminds us of how noble and crucial blood donation is, and how it can help save lives.

How Businesses Can Celebrate National Volunteer Blood Donor Month