Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq: CERS) is proud to announce its celebration of World Blood Donor Day 2024.

In 2005, the World Health Assembly designated June 14 as World Blood Donor Day to recognize and thank blood donors across the world for their important contributions to the global blood supply. For 2024, the focus of this day is on all blood donors, essential for ensuring patients have access to blood transfusion, as well as on efforts to overcome challenges and make progress to universally accessible safe blood transfusion. The 2024 slogan for World Blood Donor Day is “20 years of celebrating giving: thank you blood donors!”

“Blood donors are the foundation of the global blood supply, a critical component of a functional healthcare system,” stated William “Obi” Greenman, Cerus’ president and chief executive officer. “We should never take this essential therapeutic agent for granted, and it is important that we recognize the many donors who contribute their time and their blood, a life-saving resource.”

Although blood centers everywhere are continuously recruiting for new donors, the pool of available donors remains small and geographically limited. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 118.5 million blood donations are collected annually around the world, with 40% of these donations collected in high-income countries, which contain only 16% of the global population. A wide variety of patients regularly receive blood transfusion, including cardiovascular surgery, transplant surgery, massive trauma, cancer, obstetric, and childhood anemia patients.¹

“Despite the ongoing need for blood components for transfusion, regular shortages continue to challenge our communities. We are proud at Cerus that our innovative technology can support and even expand donor eligibility and thus contribute to improving blood availability,” Greenman continued. “So many different patients rely on the generosity of blood donors, and we are grateful for their contributions to a sustainable blood supply.”

In recognition of World Blood Donor Day, Cerus hosted a blood drive this week at company headquarters and encourages everyone to participate in supporting blood product availability in their local communities.

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blood-safety-and-availability

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is dedicated solely to safeguarding the world’s blood supply and aims to become the preeminent global blood products company. Headquartered in Concord, California, the company develops and supplies vital technologies and pathogen-protected blood components to blood centers, hospitals, and ultimately patients who rely on safe blood. The INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma is available globally and remains the only pathogen reduction system with both CE mark and FDA approval for these two blood components. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is under regulatory review in Europe, and in late-stage clinical development in the US. Also in the US, the INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation is approved for the production of Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitated Fibrinogen Complex (commonly referred to as INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex), a therapeutic product for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage, associated with fibrinogen deficiency. For more information about Cerus, visit www.cerus.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

INTERCEPT and the INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

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