The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has joined a worldwide campaign launched today to raise awareness to donate blood.
The #MissingType campaign is focusing on the main blood groups A, B and O. Iconic brands and locations worldwide have dropped the three letters in their names to highlight the lack of donations. Just some of the names taking part include the likes of Croke Park, Innocent Smoothies, Tesco, Iarnroid Eireann, Bondi Beach, the famous Amsterdam sign, and Downing Street.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have lost our A and O in support of International <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissingType?src=hash">#MissingType</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Giveblood_ie">@Giveblood_ie</a> <a href="https://t.co/bu9BTAJuFc">pic.twitter.com/bu9BTAJuFc</a></p>— Croke Park (@CrokePark) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrokePark/status/765461094802522112">August 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We’ve dropped the O from Tesco to raise awareness for <a href="https://twitter.com/GiveBloodNHS">@GiveBloodNHS</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissingType?src=hash">#MissingType</a>. See more <a href="https://t.co/qIC5JxJjsa">https://t.co/qIC5JxJjsa</a><a href="https://t.co/tHKcIQUfYJ">https://t.co/tHKcIQUfYJ</a></p>— Tesco (@Tesco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tesco/status/765447940412284928">August 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I msterdm! We're missing some crucial letters here....<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/missingtype?src=hash">#missingtype</a> <a href="https://t.co/WWolpZgCAA">pic.twitter.com/WWolpZgCAA</a></p>— I amsterdam (@Iamsterdam) <a href="https://twitter.com/Iamsterdam/status/765516418616008709">August 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Make sure there’s enough A, B and O in circulation – register to donate at <a href="https://t.co/1w36ulBb04">https://t.co/1w36ulBb04</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissingType?src=hash">#MissingType</a> <a href="https://t.co/OZYZnfr4X7">pic.twitter.com/OZYZnfr4X7</a></p>— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrishRail/status/765458331246923776">August 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Speaking about the campaign, Stephen Cousins of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service said, “We really hope that people will be inspired by the Missing Type campaign and start saving lives by becoming blood donors. They can visit giveblood.ie to check eligibility, see when the next clinic is on, or register their interest if no clinics are near them in the near future.”
There has been an almost 30% drop in people becoming blood donors around the world in comparison to a decade ago, and in Ireland there has been a 21% decrease.
The campaign aims to attract approximately 8,000 new donors in Ireland alone by the end of the year.
