A blood donor is holding a heart-shaped ball while donating blood, and a medical officer is holding a blood bag.
Most people know about June 14 — World Blood Donor Day. Fewer know about October 1.
October 1 is India's own National Voluntary Blood Donation Day — a date that predates the global observance by almost three decades. It was not created by the WHO. It was not established at an international health assembly. It was born from the life's work of a single Indian doctor who dedicated himself, for over four decades, to a cause he believed was India's most urgent medical need.
That doctor was Dr. Jai Gopal Jolly, and his birthday — October 1, 1926 — is now the reason millions of Indians roll up their sleeves every year.
Dr. Jai Gopal Jolly is regarded as the "Father of Transfusion Medicine in India". His contributions span the full arc of what India's blood system has become — from pioneering the voluntary donation movement in the 1960s and 70s, to fighting to ban paid blood donation, to establishing the institutions that now govern blood banking nationally.
Key landmarks in his career:
Dr. Jolly passed away on October 5, 2013 — just days after what would have been his 87th birthday and his day. India's blood system is in many ways the house he built.
Understanding October 1 requires understanding where India's voluntary blood donation tradition came from — because it was not the government that started it. It was individuals.
1939 — India's first blood bank was established in Kolkata, at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. Initial donors: government employees and Anglo-Indian community members.
1942 — World War II created the first organised blood donation drive in India — to support soldiers wounded in the battlefield. Post-war, the enthusiasm faded and professional (paid) donation became the norm.
1954 — Leela Moolgaonkar, a social reformer in Bombay, started voluntary blood donation drives after her son's accident highlighted the blood shortage. She went community to community, building what became India's first sustained voluntary donation movement.
1960s — Voluntary donation initiatives expanded: Kolkata's Jadavpur University, Ahmedabad and Delhi through Red Cross Societies, Chandigarh through the Blood Bank Society alongside Dr. Jolly.
1971 — Dr. J.G. Jolly founded the ISBTI, giving India's transfusion medicine community an institutional home.
1975 — National Voluntary Blood Donation Day declared on October 1 — Dr. Jolly's birthday. The choice was deliberate: a man who gave his life to the cause choosing to mark his birthday as the day the nation was asked to give.
1992 — NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) established, following the HIV pandemic, bringing new urgency to blood safety standards.
1998 — Paid blood donation legally banned in India, following a Supreme Court order responding to public interest litigation. The system formally transitioned to voluntary-only — albeit incompletely.
2002 — India adopted the National Blood Policy and WHO Guidelines on Clinical Use of Blood.
2016 — eRaktKosh launched, digitising India's blood bank network.
October 1 is observed across India with a range of activities:
At the state level:
At the community level:
At the individual level:
The states that have historically performed best on voluntary blood donation — Tripura (93% voluntary rate, the highest in India), Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Maharashtra — mark October 1 with particular vigour as an affirmation of a culture they have built.
India's voluntary donation rate has improved from 54.4% in 2006–07 to 74.55% in 2024. That improvement represents millions of additional voluntary donations per year — each one associated with lower infection risk, more predictable supply, and greater donor dignity than the replacement donation it replaced.
But 30% of India's blood still comes from replacement donors — people donating under duress, in hospital corridors, for family members who are already in crisis. The national policy goal — stated since the 2002 Blood Policy — is 100% voluntary donation.
October 1 exists to close that gap. Not through regulation. Not through compulsion. Through culture.
Donate blood. This is the most direct, most obvious, most impactful way to mark National Voluntary Blood Donation Day. Walk into a blood bank, attend a camp, schedule through TheBloodApp. One donation. One morning.
Register as a voluntary donor. If you have never donated, use October 1 as the occasion to register on TheBloodApp and commit to your first donation before the month is out.
Recognise a centurion donor. If you know someone in your community who has donated blood 25, 50, or 100 times — acknowledge them. Their quiet, sustained commitment is exactly the culture that national policy is trying to build.
Organise a camp. If you have not already organised a blood donation drive at your institution — college, office, housing society — October 1 is the most natural date around which to plan one. Contact TheBloodApp or your nearest blood bank partner to schedule.
Tell the story. Share what you know about Dr. Jolly, about October 1, about why voluntary blood donation matters. The most powerful conversations about blood donation happen one person at a time — and they are more likely to inspire action than any poster or campaign.
Dr. Jolly chose to mark his birthday as a day of giving, not receiving. That choice reflects something about the kind of person who dedicates a career to ensuring that strangers have blood when they need it — not because they are forced to, but because they choose to.
The voluntary blood donation movement in India was built by people like Leela Moolgaonkar, like Dr. Jolly, like the centurion donors who gave 100 times without fanfare. It continues through every eligible Indian who shows up at a blood bank, fills a registration form, and gives.
October 1 is their day. And it is yours, if you choose it.
Register on TheBloodApp today. Donate blood on October 1 — or any day you are eligible. Find blood banks and donation camps near you across India. To book a donation or find urgent blood in your city, call the number listed in the app.
Sources: Sankalp India Foundation — Dr. J.G. Jolly | Assam State Blood Transfusion Council — National Voluntary Blood Donation Day | PMC — Voluntary Blood Donation India Achievements and Challenges | Wikipedia — Blood Donation in India | WHO India Blood Safety 2024 | Government of India — National Blood Policy 2002
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