INTERVIEW
The French Blood Establishment (EFS) is calling for donations of blood products. If the collection could have been slowed down during confinement, the lack was not felt since most of the hospital activities were put in parentheses to give priority to the treatment of patients with Covid-19. But since the deconfinement interventions have resumed, and donors continue to be scarce, especially due to health protection measures.
"Blood products have an extremely short lifespan," recalls François Charpentier, spokesperson for the French Blood Establishment, at the microphone of Europe 1. "Paradoxically, during the confinement, our stock did not behave too badly, due to a drop in consumption linked to the least medical activity. This consumption starts again from deconfinement to normal levels even if the hospital activity has not returned to its full dimension, "he explains.
>> LIVE - Follow the evolution of the situation Thursday June 4
"We haven't lost whole swathes of our collection grounds"
But at the same time, the collection is hampered by two factors, linked to the health crisis. Firstly, the closure of certain points. "We have lost entire collection sites, particularly the education sector and businesses", which represent 30% of the resources of the EFS. "Even if companies are ready to welcome us on site, the ever-present telework hinders collection", continues François Charpentier.
Finally, the implementation of health protection measures against the spread of the new coronavirus slows down collection at other sites. "On the remaining collections, even if we always pay attention to the safety of donors, we have added barrier measures which help to slow them down," said the spokesperson for the EFS.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> First unconventional evening at the restaurant: "It feels like going back three months"
> Economic crisis: "There are going to be two shocks, one on unemployment and one for young people"
> How to distinguish from allergies from the coronavirus?
> Seasonality, cross-immunity, end of the epidemic: the latest questions on the virus
> Can we catch the coronavirus on a plane?
> Coronavirus: 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
Rethinking the organization of collections
"Every week, our stock drops by 5,000 products, and things are going very quickly," warns the manager again. "It is important to continue to give in the long term, to carry us until the start of the new school year in September, the time that we can reconfigure our collection according to these new factors", concludes François Charpentier.