“Blood donation cannot stop”

Dr Philippe Jardel, head of the French Hematological Institute (EFS) of Saintes, is categorical: “Blood donation cannot stop”. “The municipalities leave their rooms available even while they are closed for any other event”, the doctor specifies. With the confinement, “the impact is enormous: 5,000 donations are lost for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine. There are no collections in companies, high schools or campuses. We have to catch up in the municipalities, like here or in Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, ”he explains.

However, in hospitals, operations that have not been carried out are pending, the treatment of patients continues. Donating blood helps heal 10,000 sick and injured people a day. “The needs are still there, they must be covered. The collections have been canceled for a month, as on the Pessac campus which represents 1,500 donations, it is necessary to multiply for all high schools, that is, one hundred donations each time, explains Philippe Jardel. In any case, we collect for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and nationally. If there are any gaps, we’re there to balance, it’s the job of the French blood establishment. ”

Blood donation by appointment

The blood pulses therefore continue where it is still possible, given the health crisis. However, now you need to make an appointment to donate blood (1), like in spring. This makes it possible to better manage the situation, in terms of compliance with the health protocol, and to adapt the number of donations to the forecast needs.

Once the appointment is set, donors must show up with a new mask, wash their hands with hydroalcoholic gel. In return they receive a pen and a straw along with a bottle of water …

Last Friday and Saturday, Geneviève Boutinet, president of the Amicale des donors du Canton de Jonzac, was at the entrance to the town hall of Saint-Germain-de-Lusignan, where the last fundraiser of the year took place. He greeted the donors with a smile, even if hidden by the mask, and in compliance with health regulations. “It worked well this year, we have the same number of donations from high school. Our donors mobilized and the Campus des Métiers collection fell on the eve of the birth ”, the dynamic president acknowledges with relief. On Saturday afternoon, 242 people were received during the collection and 233 samples were taken, including 14 first donations. Geneviève Boutinet took the opportunity to announce this year’s data: 1,098 people received, 1,032 samples including 75 first donations. Note that the next blood collection will take place on January 15 and 16, 2021.

(1) Appointments are made on the website: mon-rdv-dondesang.efs.sante.fr