Last year, more than 100,000 blood donors have taken part in donation drives; 85,000 of them have successfully donated blood. Prospective donors can check the current needs for different blood groups here. According to the Association for Transfusion Medicine, blood types A and O are in particular short supply.

People aged between 18 and 65 can donate several times a year. The average age of blood donors has been decreasing over the years; it is now less than 40 years. Blood can be drawn either on the invitation of the Slovenian Red Cross, which organized donation drives, or during office hours of the transfusion service. Each donor receives a checkup from a doctor. To fill the needs of healthcare services in Slovenia, 400 donors are needed every day.

The Secretary General of the Slovenian Red Cross Renata Brunskole says that more than 100,000 people donate blood each year to help others "with all their heart and with the maximum sense of humanity." She expresses pride at the wide scope of the Slovenian blood donation network. Together with the Association of Transfusion Medicine, the Red Cross organizes more than 300 blood drives a year. Almost 10,000 young people join the ranks of blood donors every year when they reach legal adulthood.

This year, Slovenia is celebrating 65 years of volunteer, anonymous blood donations under the auspices of the Red Cross, which organized the first donation drive on March 9, 1953, in Zagorje. Nine Zagorje miners donated their blood, and they were soon followed by others from around the country. The Slovenian Blood Donor Day celebrates June 4, 1945, when the first 19 bottles of blood were collected and preserved in Ljubljana.