Ideally, 1500 donations should be made daily to fill this gap. A figure so far far from being reached.
The frequency of alerts bears witness to the urgency of the situation. In this end-of-year period, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) is once again sounding the alarm and affirming, once again, that its stocks are at their lowest. In an interview with France InfoPascale Richard, medical director of the latter, confirms that “the level of stocks is 20% below the ideal level to be able to treat patients.”
“Basically, we are missing 20,000 blood bags. Ideally, we should have 100,000 bags and for the moment, we are around 80,000”, she explains.
Encourage donations
To fill this gap, 1500 daily donations are needed. So to encourage the French to go to the collection centers, the EFS communicates throughout the year on social networks.
On Twitter lately, the Establishment has chosen to use an offbeat tone associated with figures from popular culture, Bruce Willis in the saga diehardto attract potential donors.
“To be able to donate blood, you just need to be in good health, to be between the ages of 18 and 70”, encourages Pascale Richard in her interview with the national media.
“You have to make an appointment on our “Blood Donation” app. Donors have to do their eligibility test on the app, which checks that you can donate blood. It’s really important that everyone is mobilizing because it is a need that is constant”, she insists.
Among the most sought-after groups, the scientist points out that “all groups are expected” but that “O groups are much more expected and more particularly the negatives.”
1 million patients treated in 2022
Donating blood has very practical implications for patients. “A blood donation saves three patients since it allows you to make a bag of red blood cells, a bag of platelets and a bag of plasma at the same time”, continues Pascale Richard, who also mentions transfusions.
“For some of them, they must receive six or seven bags every month for their whole life,” she warns.
For the year 2022 alone, the EFS estimates that one million patients have been treated thanks to donations.
