The French Blood Establishment (EFS) launched Thursday a new call for donors, especially those of group O negative. In May, more than 25,000 blood bags will not be collected by the EFS teams.
The shelf life of blood products is limited: 7 days for platelets, 42 days for red blood cells. Some 10,000 donations are needed every day to treat patients, for whom transfusions are essential, according to the facility. The EFS says that for several weeks, blood supplies remain globally stable.