Give your blood! The French Blood Establishment (ESF) launches an appeal for blood donations in the face of the unprecedented shortage which he faces. For the Hauts de France region, 900 blood donations are needed every day but for several months, the objectives have been struggling to be achieved. For the first time, the ESF even published a press release “vital emergency” to warn against the dangers of lack of blood.
The Covid crisis at the origin of the blood shortage
For the past two years, the health crisis has had a major impact on blood donation figures. Doctor Isabelle Renard, head of the Maison du Don de Lille, explains this corollary: “We used to carry out collection points in high schools and companies. With health instructions and teleworking, it has become much more complicated. With the Omicron wave, many donors self-adjourned, either waiting for Covid tests or because they were positive or contact cases.”
Dramatic consequences
This is the first time that the ESF has reached its criticality threshold. This shortage is unprecedented and can have dramatic consequences for blood applicants: “When a hospital requests blood for a particular patient, it must absolutely be able to supply it in blood bags. We often think of accident victims, or those who have hemorrhages, but there are also cancer patients. The danger is not being able to meet the needs of these people who need blood donations to survive“says Corinne Thoma, in charge of promoting the donation.
Give your blood!
The donation center in Lille does everything possible to welcome as many blood donors as possible. All the teams are mobilized to welcome blood donors and the appointment slots have been multiplied. As a reminder, all adults can donate blood, up to six times a year for men and four times for women. The ESF reminds you that it is not necessary to present a test or be vaccinated to donate blood. It is possible to donate blood without delay, whether before or after an injection of the Covid-19 vaccine
To donate blood, make an appointment at https://mon-rdv-dondesang.efs.sante.fr/
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