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Blood supply in Flanders is very low: Belgian Red Cross-Flanders calls for donations

Blood supplies in Flanders are currently at a low level. With the holiday on Thursday, August 15, and possible extended weekend for many, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders wants to avoid blood supplies dropping even further. Therefore, she is calling on people not to wait to come and donate blood, and of course plasma. To make it possible for more people to donate, donor centers are also staying open extra long during the penultimate weekend of August.

The summer months often cause a temporary drop in the number of donations, as many people are on vacation and therefore have less time to visit a donor center. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders strives to keep the blood supply constantly up to date as hospitals also need blood during the vacation periods for surgeries, emergencies, etc.. Plasma donations, of course, also remain very much needed to keep the supply of these continually growing.

Donors with negative blood groups, such as 0-, are especially encouraged to donate because these blood groups are more often used in acute situations. Other negative blood groups are also important to replenish.

Several donor centers will be open longer on Friday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Aug. 24:

  • On Friday, Aug. 23, centers in Edegem, Geel, Genk, Leuven, Mechelen, Sint-Niklaas and Turnhout will be open until 8 p.m.
  • On Saturday, August 24, donors can visit the centers of Aalst, Beringen, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Kortrijk and Roeselare from 9 am to 3 pm.

Warm call

Be sure not to wait to make an appointment to donate now. Both regular and new donors are especially welcome at one of our donor centers or during a mobile collection. Would you also like to contribute by donating blood, but especially plasma: go to Give blood, plasma or platelets | Red Cross, check the location and time that suits you best and make an appointment. Or make an appointment by calling the toll-free number 0800 777 00.

Those who are new are best to do the Donor Self-Test first .

Those who want to read a little more about giving blood or plasma first, go to: Giving blood: how, where and can I | Red Cross.