“Every day 1,500 blood donations are missing,” warns the French Blood Institute nationwide.
Blood drives saw a steep drop in attendance for three weeks. The French Blood Establishment is calling for a jump in population, essential to continue patient care.
Winter viruses, the socio-economic context, weather conditions or the recovery of Covid: many factors explain the drop in attendance at blood collections in recent weeks. The call for mobilization launched with donors last week has had no effect. The level of blood reserves continues to fall dangerously: today there are fewer than 80,000 blood donations available, while more than 100,000 are needed.
François Toujas, President of EFS, explains: “The situation is particularly worrying: attendance at our collections is too low and prospects for the start of the year are poor in an increasingly difficult context (energy crisis, social climate, etc.) . The blood collections continue, even between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, you have to go! We launch a new appeal to everyone to meet immediate needs, but also to anticipate the start of the year, which promises to be complex. »
Through this new notice, EFS is asking all citizens eligible to donate to mobilize massively. If the situation does not improve in the very short term, EFS may have difficulty supplying blood products to healthcare settings.
What can I do ?
– All citizens eligible for blood donation are invited to donate their blood as soon as possible to get out of a possible dangerous situation.
– Donors are invited to make an appointment as soon as possible and massively on dondesang.efs.sante.fr or on the Don de Sang app.
– Collections are organized between Christmas and New Years. To find the collection closest to you, go to our website.
Remember that blood transfusion is a therapeutic response that has no other alternative. 10,000 donations are needed every day to treat patients, for whom blood transfusions are essential to be cured.
To find out where to donate or to make an appointment: www.dondesang.efs.sante.fr or on the “Donate blood” app.
Press release
