21 Countries Are Dropping The Letters A, B and O To Raise Awareness For Blood Donation

You may have noticed that there were some letters missing from signs recently. Those letters, A, B and O, are part of a campaign known as #MissingType. The three letters signify blood types and it is done to encourage people to give blood.

A number of notable companies have gotten in on the campaign, including Tesco, Microsoft, Google and even the Toronto sign in Canada. The letters are being dropped for one week as part of this campaign.

The campaign runs from August 16 through August 21. 21 countries are involved, which pulls in 25 blood services worldwide. Participating countries including the United States, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Canada and Ireland.

“Without As, Os and Bs, we are nowhere,” promotions for the campaign proclaim. “Help fill in the gaps.”

This is not the first time the NHS blood and transport has run the campaign but it is the first time it is going global. Most of the support appears to be coming from UK-based corporations and organizations.

Blood donations have seen a 30% drop in the past decade. According to the World Health Organization, only about 33 out of 1000 people in high income countries donate blood. The number drops to 12 out of 1000 in middle income countries and in low income countries, it is 5 out of every 1000.

90% of the supply comes from voluntary donations.

This call for donations comes when blood donor eligibility restrictions are under high scrutiny worldwide. Some blame a lack of donors on international travel and tattooing.

There is also protesting going on over regulations associated with men who have sex with men.

Social media users can follow the campaign using the hashtag #MissingType. The group is also encouraging people to drop the three letters from their names on Facebook, twitter and other social media outlets.

Via: Mashable

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