To meet the needs of patients, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) must collect 100,000 blood donations per day. But how exactly are the collected bags used?
- Every day, 10,000 blood donations are needed to meet needs.
- The blood products collected are used in emergency situations, to treat blood diseases or certain cancers, for the manufacture of medicines or even research.
- In anticipation of the month of May and its many public holidays, 179,000 appointments for blood donation are available throughout France until the end of April.
Of the entire French population of age to donate blood, less than 4% have done so in the past year. However, it is a gesture that can save up to three people. All the more essential as there is currently no substitute for human blood. The Blood Establishment, which fears shortages of blood bags as the month of May and its many public holidays approaches, recalls the importance of donations.
Hemorrhage, cancer, medication: donating blood saves lives in many ways
“Today, there is no substitute for human blood. Blood transfusion or medications derived from blood from plasma donations are therapeutic responses that have no other alternative”, recalls the organization in a press release sent on April 9, 2024. The blood bags collected are used in four distinct ways. First of all, they are used in emergency situations, that is to say hemorrhages. These can be linked to childbirth, surgical operations or accidents, for example. “In emergency situations, blood bags must be available within half an hour so as not to harm the health of patients. Depending on the degree of hemorrhage, patients receive one or more types of blood products: red blood cells, platelets, plasma”specifies the EFS on its website.
Blood products also help treat blood or genetic diseases such as hemophilia, sickle cell anemia or thalassemia. They are also used to fight cancer. Indeed, leukemia, lymphomas, myelomas and myelodysplasias are treated using transfusions. Blood donations also help to offset the effects of chemotherapy. “These intensive treatments lead not only to the destruction of cancer cells in patients, but also of the cells in their bone marrow, which are the origin of blood cells. During this so-called aplasia period, the body can no longer renew your red blood cells It becomes necessary to transfuse large quantities of platelets and red blood cells to counter the effects of treatments and improve the patient’s health.
The bags are also likely to be used for the manufacture of certain drugs such as albumin, immunoglobulins or coagulation factors.
Furthermore, if priority is given to patient treatments, the donations collected can also be used for research. In a previous article in Quelle Docteur, Dr Michèle Villemur, doctor in charge of the Mobile Collection Unit of the French Blood Establishment for the Île-de-France region, explained: “Certain events – such as a bag containing an insufficient volume of blood or having small anomalies – render the bags unusable for patients. With the donor’s consent, the blood can be directed to research and teaching. This is also very useful and allows us to indirectly help patients since it is used to develop new protocols and treatments or to train health professionals. Thus, the blood collected is not lost. It is too precious and irreplaceable. be thrown away.”
Blood donation: nearly 180,000 appointments available in April
The EFS, which manages the French blood bank, faces a major difficulty in stock management: donations have a limited lifespan: red blood cells can only be stored for 42 days and platelets for seven days. Plasma, for its part, can be frozen and kept for 365 days. Thus, to meet needs, the level of sampling must remain regular and constant. A difficult point to maintain as we approach the month of May and the sunny days.
“Public holidays and long weekends lead to a drop in collection. For example, with the Easter weekend, around 10,000 bags could not be collected and we estimate that the May public holidays will deprive us of 20,000 donations. At the same time, patients will still be transfused, mechanically leading to a reduction in our blood product reserve level. This is why we must capitalize on the month of April to increase this level.warns Hervé Meinrad, Director of collection and production at the EFS.
Faced with this situation, the organization invites all people able to give to mobilize now, “in order to avoid a situation which could be dangerous in the short term for the health of patients”. It opened 179,000 appointments for blood donations throughout France until the end of April.
To find out where to donate blood and make an appointment, visit EFS website or the “Blood Donation” app.