Vitual emergency: Faced with a shortage, the Belgian Red Cross launches a call for blood donation

Health mobilization

Vitual emergency: Faced with a shortage, the Belgian Red Cross launches a call for blood donation

The blood reserves in Belgium fell to a critical level. The Red Cross launches a “super urgent” call to the donors, while the tiger mosquito and the travelers linked to travel brutally dropped stocks. The observation is alarming: certain blood groups, in particular negative rhesus (o-, a-), today last only a stock of barely one day. Normally, the Red Cross tables on a reserve of 5 to 7 days to ensure patient safety.

« We should have a stock of 5 to 7 days, but currently, we sometimes have only one day of reserve “Said Nicolas de Valensart, head of the blood preparation laboratory, interviewed by RTL Info this Tuesday morning.
A situation “Very difficult to maintain “, For his part confirmed Geneviève Mathy, Director General of the Blood Service, also attached by RTL Info.

The tiger mosquito, an unexpected culprit

If the summer period is already usually synonymous with the drop in collections, an unexpected factor has amplifying the crisis: the tiger mosquito. Present in many regions of Europe, this insect is a vector of tropical diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, zika virus or Western Nile virus.

Anyone who has traveled in an area where the tiger mosquito is circulating is dismissed for 28 days of blood donation.

For the Red Cross, it is impossible to take risks: anyone who has traveled in an area where the tiger mosquito is circulating is dismissed for 28 days of blood donation. This period corresponds to the “window period”, that is to say the time during which a virus can be present in the body without being detectable by screening tests. Even asymptomatic, a donor could thus transmit a potentially dangerous infection to fragile patients, such as immunocompromised or emergency hospitalized people.

Result: in the space of two weeks, the number of donors adjourned for this reason has doubled, according to the Red Cross press release published on August 20.

Direct consequences in hospitals

With such low reserves, some hospitals have already started to review their transfusions. Ultimately, this could complicate the management of surgical operations, oncological treatments or medical emergencies. Because the recall is necessary: ​​the blood is not made. Each pocket depends on a donor, and each donation can save up to three lives.

After my operations, I needed many pockets of blood. Without them, I would not be there to see my two children grow. When I hear that there is sometimes only one day of stock, it makes me cold in the back.

In a recent campaign relayed by the Belgian Red Cross, Hélène, 34, transplanted of the liver, illustrates how vital these gifts are. “” After my operations, I needed many pockets of blood. Without them, I would not be there to see my two children grow. When I hear that there is sometimes only one day of stock, it makes me cold in the back She testifies.

This type of testimony, from the Red Cross site, recalls that behind each pocket hides a life, a family, a destiny.

A solemn call to regular and new donors

Faced with the emergency, the Red Cross urges all eligible people to mobilize, whether regular or new donors. “” We ask all those who can donate, and who have not recently traveled in a risk area, to make an appointment today “, Insisted the organization.

Practical modalities for blood donation

Where to give?
-in one of the 14 fixed centers of the Red Cross (Brussels, Liège, Namur, etc.).
– during mobile collections organized in companies, universities or municipalities.
Info and appointment: Giveurdesang.be

Main temporary contraindications:
– Return of an area at risk Mosquito Tiger (France, Spain, Italy, Balkans, etc.): 28 days of waiting.
– fever, infection or antibiotic: wait for complete healing.
-Pregnancy and postpartum: contraindicated.
– Recent tattoo or piercing: 4 months delay.

Duration of a donation:
– Blood gift: about 10 minutes (+ rest).
– Plasma donation: about 45 minutes.

A decisive mobilization

Each summer, stocks are falling. But the current episode marks a disturbing turning point. A simple insect was enough to influence a whole vital mechanism. More than ever, the Red Cross recalls that solidarity is the only answer: to take an hour to give is to offer several years of life to a patient.

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