Diabetes Week is taking place from 14-20 June 2015.  Held around the UK each year, this special week is all about raising awareness of this common condition.

Events will be held around the country to raise funds for Diabetes UK, the charity who organise the week.  The charity was formed in 1954 and was called the British Diabetic Association but changed its name in 2000.  It is now the largest diabetes charity in the UK and uses money donated to fund research into the condition and help those suffering from it.

The aim of the week is to raise awareness of the different types of diabetes and raise all important funds for the charity which includes their care line.  The charity's care line provides practical information and emotional support to anyone affected by diabetes – whether you suffer from it yourself, or a friend or family member does.

This Diabetes Week, the charity want to remind everyone that they not alone when it comes to diabetes.  Actually there are a lot of people out there going through the same thing. 

Throughout the week, they'll be shouting about all of the ways they give support, advice, and chances to learn more about diabetes to help people better manage their condition.

For more information on Diabetes or to find out how you can become more involved with fundraising visit the website at:  https://www.diabetes.org.uk/.

World Blood Donor Day is also observed every year on 14 June.  Are you a Donor, would you like to be, can you help?

Every year, over 107 million units of blood are donated around the world, helping to save the lives of millions of people and half of these units are collected in high income countries.

The day isn’t just about encouraging people to donate blood – it is to celebrate and thank those who donate blood freely with no reward.  It's about thanking the people who save lives without even knowing they have done so.

This day sees The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The International Federation of Blood Donor Organisations and The International Society of Blood Transfusion all come together with The World Health Organisation to promote blood  and the benefits of donating blood around the world.

The theme of this year’s campaign is: "Thank you for saving my life".

It focuses on thanking blood donors who save lives every day through their blood donations.  It also strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly with the slogan: “Give freely, give often.  Blood donation matters.”

The campaign aims to highlight stories from people whose lives have been saved through blood donation, as a way of motivating regular blood donors to continue giving blood and people in good health who have never given blood, especially young people, to begin doing so.

This year's campaign objectives are to:

Thank blood donors for their life-saving donations;

Promote regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donation;

Create wider public awareness of the need for regular donation because of the short shelf-life of blood components and to encourage existing and potential donors to donate blood at regular intervals;

Focus attention on donor health and the quality of donor care as critical factors in building donor commitment and a willingness to donate regularly;

Persuade ministries of health to show their appreciation of regular voluntary unpaid donors and provide adequate resources to provide quality donor care.

In many countries, demand exceeds supply, and blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety.  An adequate supply can only be assured through regular donations by voluntary, unpaid blood donors.  WHO’s goal is for all countries to obtain all their blood supplies from voluntary unpaid donors by 2020.

Today, in just 62 countries, national blood supplies are based on close to 100% voluntary unpaid blood donations, with 40 countries still dependent on family donors and even paid donors.

For more information visit:  http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-blood-donor-day/2015/event/en/

Does this make you think of your own Health?  Are you due a check up at the doctor's and are putting it off?  Are you scared to visit the doctor's for a health issue because you don't want to hear the outcome?  

Please visit your doctor's, they are the professionals and they will help you!  If you are able to satisfy the criteria for donating blood, you can spare a pint or so, surely?