The Sydney Opera House is getting behind Missing Type.

Don’t worry, there isn’t a letter thief out there; this is to raise awareness of the world’s need for blood donations. As the supplies of blood types A, B and O go missing, so too will the letters.

Lauded as the campaign a billion people are getting behind, the week long campaign called ‘Missing Type’ involves 25 blood services from 21 countries. Everything from iconic signs and landmarks, business names, sporting teams and TV shows have dropped the three letters in an effort to increase blood donation and encourage people to fill the missing type.

Launched by UK organisation NHS Blood and Transplant, the global campaign #missingtype has sprung from a 30% drop in donations in the past seven years. The Australian Red Cross needs around 25, 000 individual blood donations each week to meet patient demands and while 1 in 30 Australians already donate, the charity is always looking for more. The blood service needs 100,000 new donors in the next year to help save or improve the lives of patients.

A number of well-known Australian brands and landmarks including Surf Life Saving NSW, NAB, Qantas, Australia Post, Coles and the TV show Neighbours have all decided to drop A, B and O which implores people to ‘fill in the gaps’ and donate.

Another Australian company taking part, and one all Aussie blood donors would know, is Byron Bay Cookies. Spokesperson Emilie Emond said the company had no hesitation in dropping some of the alphabet from their cookies, “we provide Byron Bay Cookies to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service for donors to enjoy after giving blood, so we’re proud to be part of the International Missing Type Campaign and do our part in raising awareness of the ongoing challenge in recruiting new donors”.

Australia is one of 62 countries that collect 100% of its blood supply from voluntary unpaid donations which, according to a spokesperson from the Australian Red Cross Shaun Inguanzo is the way it will stay.

“The Blood Service supports the World Health Organisation’s stance that blood donation should be a voluntary, non-remunerated activity to ensure people are intending to donate only to save lives,” he said.

Adding, “This helps to ensure both donor and patient safety.”

Byron’s new welcome.Source:Twitter

The number of people donating blood is at one of the lowest levels it has ever been, made worse by a lack of awareness of the need for diverse blood donors, a rise in the popularity of tattoos and many Australians desire for wider and more exotic travel.

Blood Service Chief Executive Shelly Park said blood transfusions saved lives and transformed health for millions across the world.

“But they are dependent on people donating blood,” she said, “whether it is patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after accidents or during surgery, or new mums who lost blood in childbirth, blood is an absolutely essential part of modern health care.”

Globally, brands like Microsoft, Tesco, Google, Transport for London and Dunkin’ Donuts are also taking part in the campaign which has gone viral worldwide. Mr. Inguanzo attributed the campaign’s popularity to how strange these brands and logos look with the missing letters.

“In this sense, it highlights how strange a world would be without these blood types, in a very clever way.”

The campaign runs until August 21 and you can register to donate here.