After confinement, blood stocks in France are at an all-time low. "The alert threshold has been reached," warns the French Blood Establishment (EFS), which calls on the French to donate blood. These donations are particularly essential to the resumption of surgical operations that has begun.
It is therefore a call for the mobilization of all that the EFS launches to be able to spend the summer season with enough reserves. On the occasion of World Blood Donor Day on June 14, he calls on everyone to donate blood or encourage those around him to do so with his operation “#Take the baton, 1 month to give all! "
[#PrenezLeRelais] It starts today! 🤩
From June 8 to July 11, the EFS in partnership with @ M6Groupe, invites everyone to give their blood and pass the baton to those around them! For this challenge, every link in the chain counts! đź’™ @ karineLMoff @ jeromeanthonyM6 pic.twitter.com/7bDoLwnqGL
Increase stocks before summer
"While we were able to spend the confinement period finally in a fairly calm manner, we have reached an alert threshold, the situation is not good" and "extremely tense" today, notes François Toujas president of the French blood establishment. Thursday morning, the stock was at 90,000 bags of red blood cells, but the level fell below the alert threshold to 85,000 on June 2.
"It would reach 120,000 bags of red blood cells in mid-July," said François Toujas. It is essential to raise the reserve level before summer and to maintain it until September.
At the origin of this "worrying" situation, the cancellation of numerous mobile collections (in universities and businesses, etc.) persisting even in times of deconfinement (sectors still slowed down, teleworking or premises unavailable).
Collection slowed down by the epidemic
Moreover, corporate collection, important for blood donations, practically stopped at the beginning of March, before the confinement. The EFS is trying to redeploy collections elsewhere, for example in municipal halls. However, the precautions to avoid the transmission of the new coronavirus (wearing of masks provided, physical distance, etc.) slow the samples. The risk is not transfusion, emphasizes Dr. Pascal Morel, medical and research director of the EFS. You have to come when you feel healthy, without symptoms, to avoid the Covid-19 contagion, he says.
During the summer season, donors are on vacation and needs are usually less. But this will not be the case this summer: there are real concerns at the EFS because there are no other options than blood transfusion in most cases while the needs increase with the resumption hospital activity.
Blood donations are possible every eight weeks: those who donated at the start of confinement can donate again. The red blood cells keep for a maximum of 42 days and the platelets for seven days. To know where to give, just go to the EFS website.
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- Coronavirus
- Confinement
- Blood donation