“Today, fewer than 85,000 blood bags are available when more than 100,000 are needed to meet the needs of patients during this winter period,” the French blood institute (EFS) warned in a press release published on Thursday. . “The collection will not stop during the holidays,” said Hervé Meinrad, director of collection and production of the EFS, quoted in the press release, calling for the mobilization of the population.
“Every day around 10,000 donations are needed to treat patients, for whom blood transfusions are the only alternative to treatment”, recalls the EFS, which therefore calls for a necessary mobilization of donors in the face of declining blood supplies.
Outbreaks ‘hit donors hard’
Mobilization for blood donation must be daily because the shelf life of blood products is limited (seven days for platelets, 42 days for red blood cells). According to the EFS, holidays, difficult weather conditions, preparations for celebrations or even seasonal epidemics all lead to declining attendance at donation sites.
This year the flu and Covid-19 epidemics “strongly affect donors”, but also EFS staff, “which sometimes forces them to cancel or reduce collections”, explained the institution. A list of collection points can be viewed on the dondesang.efs.sante.fr website or on the Don de sang app.
