Red Cross raises the alarm: Germany is running out of blood supplies – “critical situation”

Created: 06/14/2022, 17:07

By: Theresa Kuchler

June 14th is World Blood Donor Day - and the Red Cross sounds the alarm.

Because blood supplies are gradually becoming scarce.

Almost anyone can donate.

Munich – For many patients, blood donations are essential for survival.

The Red Cross states that around 14,000 blood donations are needed in Germany alone – per day.

They go to accident victims, surgery patients or are used in the treatment of serious illnesses such as cancer.

With the beginning of the corona pandemic, the available blood supplies gradually decreased.

And the situation continues to worsen.

"We are in a critical situation at the moment because we have a very high need for blood in clinics," says Patric Nohe, spokesman for the blood donation services of the German Red Cross.

On the one hand, because many operations that the hospitals had to postpone during Corona are being made up at the moment.

World Blood Donor Day 2022: Canned goods are running out - Red Cross appeals for blood donation

But the Germans' desire to travel also makes the donation situation more difficult.

Because of holidays and holidays, many people who used to go to donate blood are on vacation.

The willingness to donate tends to decrease in the summer.

Nohe therefore appeals: "So if you have never donated blood, now would be an ideal time to do so."

Hubert Schrezenmeier also confirms significant bottlenecks in the supply of blood products.

He is the chairman of the German Society for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology (DGTI).

The fact that the need for blood is currently higher than the amount of donations is also explained by the way people spend their free time.

After all, doing sports is now possible again without restrictions.

This leads to more accidents - and a higher need for blood products.

On World Blood Donation Day 2022, the German Red Cross is appealing for blood donations.

Because canned goods are in short supply.

© Varvara Gert e/Sputnik Ivanovo/Imago

According to the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), 47 percent of Germans have already donated blood.

According to the German Red Cross, only three percent donate regularly.

The demographic change is also worrying: The BZgA assumes that due to age and illness, one hundred thousand active blood donors in Germany will be absent every year in the future.

The average age of the donors is already over 50 years.

Saving lives with your own blood: Almost anyone can donate

Almost anyone can donate blood.

Any person between the ages of 18 and 68 who weighs at least 50 kilograms and whose state of health permits is a suitable donor.

Only those who donate blood for the first time may not be older than 60 years.

Nevertheless, older people are not excluded from the outset - their state of health is only checked before the donation.

also read

WHO convenes emergency committee over monkeypox

Omicron BA.5: Symptoms, incubation period and course - everything about the corona subtype

The number of times you can donate blood depends on the gender of the donor.

Women are allowed to donate blood four times within a year, men six times.

There should be at least eight weeks between two blood donations so that the body can regenerate sufficiently.