Céline Géraud, edited by Ugo Pascolo with AFP 4:53 p.m., February 09, 2022

The French blood establishment (EFS) is concerned about the very low level of bags at its disposal.

While it takes 100,000 pockets to simply build up the establishment's stocks, it only has 70,000 at its disposal.

Faced with the “vital urgency” of the situation, an appeal for donations is launched. 

"Today we have a historically low stock."

Sylvain Meinrad, of the EFS, does not hide his concern at the microphone of Europe 1. And for good reason, for several days the stock gauge of the French blood establishment has been in the red.

The establishment even issued a press release in which it describes the situation as “vital emergency”.

"It's really very low, we've never experienced that"

"We are at 70,000 blood bags, it's really very low, we've never experienced that", insists Sylvain Meinrad again, who specifies that 30,000 additional bags are needed to "replenish stocks".

In detail, the EFS needs all the blood groups, the O groups of course, they are very used, but "the situation is such that we also need the other [blood] groups."

But how to explain such a situation?

For the EFS, the answer is simple: Covid-19.

"Two years of permanent tensions linked to the impacts generated by Covid (cancellations of collections in companies and universities, lower mobilization of donors, difficulties in recruiting medical personnel) have considerably affected blood collection. The wave linked to the Omicron variant , which affected several million French people in a few weeks, added two critical elements: the self-deferral of certain blood donors and a high rate of absenteeism among EFS staff", analyzes the EFS in its press release. . 

No vaccination pass required to be able to donate blood

The EFS also specifies that "neither the health pass nor the vaccination pass are necessary to access" blood donation.

But also that "people who have shown symptoms of Covid-19 must wait 14 days after symptoms disappear to donate blood or 14 days after testing positive", recalls the press release.

A list of collection points can be viewed on the dondesang.efs.sante.fr website or on the Don de sang app.