“Emergency” in a box: NRW urgently seeks blood donors

When a hospital needs blood for a patient, it’s often a matter of life and death. But the fields of the DRK blood donation service, the largest supplier in North Rhine-Westphalia, are almost empty. “For some blood groups, the clinics currently receive only half of what we ask for,” says Stephan David Küpper of the Blood Donation Service West in Ratingen.

Doctors with a little knack for improvisation could still ensure patient safety, experts say. But one long-term trend worries them: the population’s willingness to donate is steadily declining and shortages are increasing.

There are times of the year when the situation is traditionally particularly tense. In the summer, many loyal regular donors are on vacation. Winter is the time of colds and those who are sick cannot donate blood. But in the current flu wave it is especially bad.

According to its own information, the blood donation service DRK West only has as many blood products in stock as hospitals use for their patients in one day, for example during operations, cancer therapy or for accident victims. Küpper warns that this inventory has reached an “absolutely red line”. In reality, canned food should be available for five days. “The wave of disease creates an emergency when it comes to donating blood.”

A shortage of canned food can become a problem in the event of a major disaster

Large clinics in the West, which also have their own blood donation centers, are struggling with the same problems. “One should not be under any illusions: In the future we will have such a shortage of blood products much more frequently,” says Peter Horn, director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine at the Essen University Hospital. Should the shortage become too great, non-essential operations would have to be postponed as a first step. In the worst case, however, it could also happen “that we are no longer able to supply in the event of a major disaster”.

Baby boomers, when there were even more loyal blood donors, were getting older and tended to switch from blood donor to blood recipient. “At the same time, we clearly notice a lower willingness to donate among young people,” says the professor of transfusion medicine.

Only three percent of the population able to donate actually give blood

Overall, only three percent of the population able to donate actually give blood. In cities there are still significantly fewer of them than in the countryside. This further aggravates the situation in North Rhine-Westphalia: less blood is donated in metropolitan areas, while at the same time there are many large clinics that treat even particularly complicated cases. “Basically we need more people who take responsibility for patients through their regular blood donation,” emphasizes DRK spokesman Küpper.

This is why the industry is struggling to find good approaches to attract especially young donors. Blood donation services are becoming increasingly digital and are developing their own apps. On social networks, the subject becomes more emotional, for example by telling the stories of young people whose lives have been saved and given a new future by donating blood. The Düsseldorf University Hospital woos young donors with small gifts: New donors receive a cinema voucher, regular donors a small cheque. But donating blood for money is controversial in the industry.

Health insurance companies could reward blood donations as part of their bonus programs

The Red Cross, with its extensive blood donation service, also counts on the support of politicians and companies. If employees received time credit from their boss for their blood donation, that would be an incentive, says DRK spokesman Küpper. “Not only do we get half a liter of blood from people, but mostly some time.” Health insurance companies might reward a blood donation as part of their bonus programs. And in schools, he suggests, the subject could be given a regular place in biology lessons.

The NRW state government, on the other hand, points out that according to the law, blood donation services are responsible for supplying blood products to the population. The government supports it: members of the government have written letters to municipalities and companies in the country asking that the premises be made available for blood donation campaigns. “Basically, the Ministry considers the blood supply to the population safe,” says a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health.

The German Society for Transfusion Medicine and the Blood Working Group of the Robert Koch Institute are pursuing the goal of collecting more valid data on the supply of blood products, also to make the urgency of the topic clear to politicians.