The need for blood reserves is 'growing enormously.'įor weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic put many treatments and elective surgeries on hold.
'Corona sent everything into a spin,' says Stephan David Küpper, head of the DRK's blood donation service in western Germany. Read more: Why blood donations are needed more than ever in corona times Storage in some of Germany's 16 states currently holds as little as one day's supply. Under usual circumstances, the German Red Cross (DRK) - which covers two-thirds of Germany's blood supplies - would aim to have enough blood reserves for four to five days. Germany's blood reserves are running low. The footfall of donors, now wearing face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, is steady, but not fast enough.
A few forms, a quick measure of blood pressure, a scratch on the arm, and seven minutes later donors have made their 500ml contribution to the 15,000 blood donations needed every day in Germany. At a blood donation bank in Cologne, western Germany, empty bags sit ready to be filled.
