Cyprus ranks first among EU countries for volunteer blood donations, First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides remarked in a speech on Wednesday.

The speech was delivered in honour of the 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day, which is celebrated every year on June 14. The World Health Organisation initiative launched in 2004 as a way to recognise and honour blood donors around the world. 

The campaign’s 2024 slogan is “20 years of celebrating giving: Thank you, blood donors!”

According to the first lady, volunteer donations meet 100 per cent of Cyprus’ demand for blood.

This performance has placed Cyprus among the top 62 countries worldwide for blood donation rates relative to population size.

She thanked Cypriot volunteers for making this statistic possible. “Let me also express my gratitude to all the volunteer blood donors,” the First Lady said, “who always respond to the call to donate blood.”

Her speech also stressed the importance of maintaining a “culture of regular blood donation” in Cyprus to reinforce the country’s high donation rates. “Every effort to strengthen the blood reserves is valuable,” she added.

The first lady also thanked the SupportCY network and the Bank of Cyprus for organising Wednesday’s blood donation event, which she described as a “a beautiful event of contribution to human life.”

She ended her speech by calling the act of giving blood a ‘priceless offer.’

“Voluntary blood donation is a special kind of priceless offer to fellow human beings,” she said.