The flagship event of the IONIS group: Le Printemps du Sang
Since 2008, blood spring is a national event present on all the campuses of the IONIS Group to educate students on this subject and allow them to make a donation that saves many lives every day.
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At XP, this message was brought by a student in 2nd year of Bachelor, Leo LePinwho conducted an interview with Thomas Guyonwho works at theFrench Blood Establishment at Rennes to know more about his profession and on the needs, in France, of blood.
Interview with Thomas Guyon, territorial developer at the Maison du Don in Rennes
What is blood donation used for today?
In France, 1 million people are treated with blood products. Of this million people, half are directly transfused and the other half use drugs derived from proteins found in plasma.
When you make a blood donation, 3 essential elements are collected:
– of the Red cells which have a lifespan of 42 days
– from plasma which can be used for about 1 year
– of the pads which have a shelf life of 7 days
A single donation can help 3 different patients. We can also make specific donations focused solely on plasma and platelets, for example.
Two situations may require the use of blood:
– them life-threatening emergencies (hemorrhages)
– them patients with diseases affecting the immune systemcertain types of cancers or pathologies requiring the treatment time of blood infusions.
This is a cause that can affect the entire population.
Who can donate blood?
In France, you must be aged 18 to 70 years old to make a donation. There is also a minimum weight of 50kg to respect and do not forget to eat before coming to make a donation. The majority of people who are contraindicated after the advice of our doctor can most often return a little later in the year. For example, you have to wait 4 months before making a donation in the event of a new tattoo or a new piercing.
Is there a lack of blood in France?
A watch is carried out throughout the territory in the different regions to analyze the remaining quantities of blood. If necessary, solidarity is set up to transfer pockets to where the need is greatest.
The reserve level was very complicated at the start of 2022 with only 72,000 pockets available throughout France. The centers needabout 10,000 donations per day to meet the needs of the entire population. To be more serene, it would be necessary to reach a reserve ratio of 13 days with more than 120000 pockets available throughout France.
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The level of reserve was sufficient at the time of the recording of this interview. However, in July 2022, the French Blood Establishment gave a state of emergency concerning the stocks of bags which is insufficient for the summer. A press release was published to mobilize donors on the different EFS social networks.
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What are your missions currently?
My missions are to organize the various collections carried out at the Maison du Don and promote blood donation within the various structures present around Rennes. I am a single interlocutor between the different parties.
What is the “Tout Rennes Donne” event?
4 events are organized all year round at the Maison du Don. In spring, “All Rennes Gives”in summer an event around the world blood donor day and two more are planned for September and December.
Over several days, the medical and non-medical teams will be reinforced at the Maison du Don to allow a much greater number of appointments. The idea is to highlight to the general public our place of collection, open from Monday to Saturdayto remind that we are present with donors who wish to donate their blood several times a year (as a reminder, it is possible to make a donation 4 times a year for a woman and 6 times for a man).
We would especially like to thank Thomas Guyon for this very complete interview which highlights the needs of the French Blood Establishment during this time of a pandemic. Congratulations to our student Leo LePin for the quality of his work on this subject and for his help in the production of this article.
