Photo - CDC/Unsplash
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with global K-pop powerhouse ENHYPEN in Seoul on 22 October to celebrate the success of their collaboration for World Blood Donor Day 2026 and recognise the group’s role in inspiring young people around the world to donate blood and save lives.
The collaboration between WHO and ENHYPEN started on World Blood Donor Day on 14 June 2026, bringing together the power of music, social media and the group’s global fan community, known as ENGENE, to promote voluntary, unpaid blood donation.
“Blood is the most precious gift that anyone can give to another person – the gift of life” said the Director-General, “I am proud of all ENHYPEN members’ commitment and collaboration with WHO to promote blood donation and save lives. The last campaign was a great success, reaching millions of people. ENHYPEN and ENGENE have the real power to influence the world. I’m also their fan.”
Through a series of social media videos and digital content developed with WHO, ENHYPEN encouraged their millions of fans to learn about the importance of safe blood, make a pledge to donate and take action in their own communities.
ENHYPEN highlighted the global participation from ENGENE and their hope to continue creating meaningful change together with their fans, saying, “We launched this campaign hoping our fans would join us, and we’re grateful to see ENGENEs from all around the world taking part. We hope to continue creating meaningful change together with our fans.”
The group led by example by visiting a Korean Red Cross blood donation centre in Seoul, where all members underwent donor eligibility screening and members JAY and JUNGWON donated plasma.
“You can donate whole blood, plasma or platelets. I donated plasma today. I hope you all joined in this good cause too,” said JUNGWON in the campaign video.
Their message resonated far beyond the Republic of Korea. Fans from countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Germany and the United States shared photographs and personal stories of donating blood, transforming an online campaign into real-world participation.
WHO’s 2026 Drop Your Drop global blood donation campaign had received more than 9000 pledges from people across 177 countries, including over 3250 participants identifying themselves as ENGENE.
WHO advocates for safe, adequate and sustainable national blood supplies based on regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donation. Encouraging younger generations to become regular donors is particularly important because blood and its components have a limited shelf life and supplies must be continuously replenished.
