The blood supplies in our country are critical, especially in the case of negative blood groups, the shortages are large. In the donor center in Mechelen they hope for improvement. ‘There are still too many barriers to donating blood’.
“I have come to give blood for the twentieth time”. Sven (57) from Grimbergen reports to the Red Cross blood donor center in Mechelen. The man has blood group AB negative, a blood group that is more than necessary in Flanders. “I donate blood to help people. You never know what might happen, huh. If I ever had an accident, I would also be grateful to get blood from other people.”
There are currently regarding 250,000 blood donors in Flanders. Yet more than ever there is a need for fresh blood. The blood supply of all negative blood groups (A, B, AB and O negative) is therefore very low at the moment. Worse still: a critical shortage is imminent for each of those blood groups.
This is also an extra big problem for O negative, because they are the so-called ‘universal donors’. The blood of such donors can be given to patients of all blood groups.
Blood for three days
How critical is the situation exactly? Well, for those negative blood groups there is only a blood supply for three working days. That is on the low side, but no reason to panic.
“On average, we have a working week of blood supply per blood group. If we notice that we have a smaller stock, we have to take steps,” says Joachim Deman, spokesperson for the Flemish Red Cross. These steps have now been taken: the Belgian Red Cross recently sounded the alarm and asks citizens to register.
Donors like Sven are already used to the procedure of donating blood. It’s not complicated: you register at the center, fill in a list of regarding 26 questions and then you have an interview with a doctor. According to Deman, this procedure is very important. “The questionnaire provides a first insight into the safety of the donor’s blood. After that, you also have an interview with a doctor in the donor center.”
In Mechelen, the doctor sits in a glass box. “Are you next?”, it sounds, while Sven goes to the box. After the conversation with the doctor, Sven can settle into a – how might it be otherwise – red chair. A few nurses are busy with the injection and checking of the various donors who have reported here.
With a donation, regarding 450 or 470 ml of blood may be taken. However, not everyone can register as a donor. Two groups are rejected anyway. “On the one hand, people with a risk of infection, because that is dangerous for patients who would receive that blood,” says Deman. But people for whom giving blood is dangerous, such as people with anemia, are also not allowed to donate.
The current shortages are a structural problem, according to Deman. At the moment there are even 19 percent fewer donors than during the rest of the year. “In the past, civil servants were given a day’s leave to donate blood, but we notice that time has become very precious for everyone. During some periods, such as the summer and Christmas holidays, people think less of us,” says Deman.
Noble thought
Nevertheless, donating blood is and remains very important, emphasizes the Red Cross. The blood goes to people in need, for example to children with leukemia or women who have lost a lot of blood during a difficult delivery. Deman: “So you save lives with it, and you can take that literally.”
A noble thought. But Sven, who has now fulfilled his good deed of the day, says that he has trouble convincing people in his environment. “I advertise it, but it is still just a threshold, I notice. It would be a good resolution to donate more blood in 2023. It doesn’t hurt either and the test only takes regarding ten minutes!”
If you want to donate blood yourself, you can find more information at rodekruis.be/bloed.
