Red Cross Not enough blood in the summer

Too little blood in summer: German Red Cross is urgently looking for blood donors

06/15/2012

In summer, fewer people go to the blood donation each year than in the cooler seasons. The German Red Cross (DRK) therefore recruits for blood donors. However, many have fears of fainting, for example, and can therefore be deterred from donating. Roland Karl, Head of the Institutes for Transfusion Medicine at the Blood Donor Service East of the German Red Cross, explains.

A healthy body can easily handle blood donations
Roland Karl reports that the fear of overturning potential blood donors was reorganized: „We take only a small part of the blood.“ The body can handle the withdrawal amount of only 500 milliliters without any problems. Donating blood is an emotional matter, explains Karl. About two-thirds of the population is in a position to drain blood. Yet only ten percent of them would go to the blood donation. There are many fears and prejudices in the population, according to the expert. „There are people who have not donated yet and are still falling.“

The employees of the blood donation service are prepared for anxious donors. With appropriate training, they would have learned to deal with the worries and fears. The staff would talk to the dispensers to distract them from the puncture of the needle. „A donor should not think so much about what to expect“, advises Karl. The best thing for donors who are afraid of the needle or their own blood, is to look it off if they were stung.

Avoid blood donation for coffee and milk
„It also plays an essential role in the condition in which I come for blood donation“, reports Karl. At high temperatures, the body is often more sensitive. The situation would be similar if too little liquid was drunk before. „We always recommend drinking one or two glasses half an hour before.“ Water, juice and tea are suitable, while coffee and milk are taboo. „This affects the quality of the donation.“

In the summer there are regularly bottlenecks in the DRC blood transfusion services. Presumably, potential donors then prefer to stay in the open air rather than in a laboratory to donate their blood. Another problem is the competition, which pays the donations money for the blood collection. German Red Cross spokesman Friedrich-Ernst Düppe emphasizes that this is actually prohibited. Some amounts of more than € 25 would be provided. At least that corresponds to three times the daily rate of the Hartz IV ruleset. Financial aspects therefore seem to be an important factor in the decision to donate blood. In Europe, it is stipulated by law that donations must be made voluntarily and free of charge. According to Düppe, an allowance for the travel and parking costs would be appropriate, but nothing more. (Ag)

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