About World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is marked every 8 May, the birthday of Henry Dunant, who started the Red Cross after seeing wounded soldiers left untended at Solferino in 1859. In India the Indian Red Cross Society, created by an Act of 1920, runs blood camps, first aid demonstrations and school programmes around the day. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, 8 May 2027.
Why is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on 8 May?
The date is Henry Dunant's birthday. Dunant, a Swiss businessman, was born on 8 May 1828. In 1859 he passed through Solferino in northern Italy just after a battle and found thousands of wounded soldiers with almost nobody to treat them. He got local people to help, then wrote a book arguing that every country should have trained volunteer relief societies and that the wounded should be treated as neutral. That idea became the Red Cross. Dunant shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
An annual day was proposed after the First World War and approved at the 15th International Conference of the Red Cross in Tokyo in 1934. The Second World War delayed it. The first Red Cross Day was held on 8 May 1948. The name changed to World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in 1984, to include societies in countries that use the crescent instead of the cross.
| Part of the Movement | What it does |
|---|---|
| International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) | Works in war zones, visits prisoners, and guards the Geneva Conventions. Founded in Geneva in 1863. |
| International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) | Coordinates the national societies, mostly in disaster and health work. Called the League of Red Cross Societies until 1991. |
| National societies, such as the Indian Red Cross | Do the work on the ground in their own country: blood, ambulances, first aid, relief after floods and cyclones. |
What is the Indian Red Cross Society?
The Indian Red Cross Society is India's national Red Cross society, created by law in 1920. A bill to separate it from the British Red Cross was moved in the Indian Legislative Council on 3 March 1920 by Sir Claude Hill, passed on 17 March, and became Act XV of 1920. The Act was last amended in 1992.
The President of India is its president and the Union Health Minister is traditionally its chairman. It has 36 state and union territory branches and more than 1,100 district and sub-district branches. After Partition in 1947 it handed over a share of its assets to help start the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
Blood is its best known work. The Society runs more than 100 blood centres across 17 states and union territories. Its headquarters centre in Delhi collects around 30,000 units a year, all from voluntary donors, and gives about 70 per cent of that blood free to patients in government hospitals and to people with thalassaemia, haemophilia and sickle cell disease.
How is World Red Cross Day marked in India?
Mostly through blood camps and school programmes. State and district branches of the Indian Red Cross hold donation drives in colleges, offices and government departments, usually with a small function to honour repeat donors. Junior Red Cross units in schools and Youth Red Cross units in colleges put on first aid demonstrations, poster contests and talks on road safety and disaster preparedness. Some branches hand out volunteer certificates the same week.
It is not a public holiday anywhere in India. Offices and schools stay open.
The Movement works to seven principles, and they explain much of what the day stands for: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Neutrality is the one people argue about. It means Red Cross staff do not take sides in a conflict, which is exactly what lets them cross a front line and reach the wounded on both sides.
What to write on World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
Thank a person, not an idea. A line that says "thank you for the eight times you have donated" lands better than anything about humanity in general.
Do
- Name the work: blood donation, first aid training, ambulance duty, relief camps after a flood.
- Thank the people who organise your office blood camp and the technicians who run it.
- If you are asking people to donate blood, give the date, place, timing and a number to call.
Avoid
- Don't use photographs of wounded people or war to make a point.
- Don't write "Happy Red Cross Day" to someone working in disaster relief. Thanks, not greetings.
- Don't claim that a post saves lives. Booking a slot does.
Eight donations and counting. On World Red Cross Day, thank you for making the office camp look easy. I am signing up this year.
Thank you for the hours at the camp desk, the calls to donors and the paperwork nobody sees. Take a day off soon.
To our Junior Red Cross team: you taught 200 students how to stop bleeding and call for help. That is a real skill. Well done.
Thinking of you today and of the night shifts. Thank you for knowing what to do when the rest of us freeze.
Our blood donation camp is on Saturday, 8 May 2027, 10 am to 4 pm, in the cafeteria. One unit takes about 15 minutes and can help up to three patients.
Proud of you for donating today. Eat something, drink water and skip the gym tonight. See you at the next camp.
If you are planning ahead, World Blood Donor Day on 14 June is the bigger donation date in India, International Nurses Day on 12 May falls in the same week, and World Humanitarian Day on 19 August honours relief workers in conflict zones.
How to wish someone on World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
This is a thank-you day, not a festival. A good message names what the person actually does: gives blood, teaches first aid, runs a camp, drives an ambulance. Keep it short and specific, thank volunteers by name where you can, and leave out war imagery. "Happy" sits badly here. "Thank you" works better.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in 2026 and 2027?
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is on 8 May every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
Why is World Red Cross Day celebrated on 8 May?
Because it is the birthday of Henry Dunant, born on 8 May 1828, whose account of the wounded at Solferino in 1859 led to the founding of the Red Cross. The first Red Cross Day was held on 8 May 1948.
When was the Indian Red Cross Society founded?
The Indian Red Cross Society was created by Act XV of 1920, passed by the Indian Legislative Council on 17 March 1920. It now has 36 state and union territory branches and over 1,100 district and sub-district branches.
Who is the president of the Indian Red Cross Society?
The President of India is the president of the Indian Red Cross Society, and the Union Health Minister is traditionally its chairman. A Secretary General runs it day to day from the national headquarters in New Delhi.
What are the seven fundamental principles of the Red Cross?
They are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Neutrality means the Movement does not take sides in a conflict, which is what allows its staff to reach the wounded on both sides.
Is World Red Cross Day a holiday in India?
No. It is an observance, not a public holiday. Offices, schools and colleges work normally and usually mark it with blood donation camps, first aid demonstrations or a short function for volunteers.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .