The French-speaking Red Cross also calls for urgent blood donations

The French-speaking Red Cross also calls for urgent blood donations

The Belgian French-speaking Red Cross has called for urgent blood donations, a few days after its Flemish counterpart did the same. “The current situation is very worrying. We have noticed a large decrease in reserves for all the different blood groups”, the French-speaking organisation said in a press release on Sunday.

“Despite the summer holidays, hospitals still use a huge amount of blood. A large number of our donors are on holiday. In spite of this, we must continue to meets the hospital’s needs and replenish reserves so we can deal with any given situation”, the Red Cross explained. They want to increase their reserves by 10%.

Anyone aged between 18 and 70, who also weighs more than 50 kilos and is in good health, can give blood. Donors who have never given blood before have to be between 18 and 65 years old. Giving blood takes around 5 to 10 minutes. As well as the regular sessions in Red Cross blood donation sites, there will be around 20 extra donation sessions in Wallonia and Brussels during the summer.

(Source: Belga)


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.