The Covid-19 pandemic had no significant impact on blood donations in 2020. In fact, the Red Cross' blood reserves even increased at the beginning of the first lockdown in March.

Over the course of the health crisis, 1,400 new donors volunteered. However, the situation has significantly changed since then. Since February 2021, the demand for blood has been between 11% and 29% above average, depending on the month. As a consequence, Luxembourg's blood reserves are running very low. The Luxembourg Red Cross has issued an urgent call for blood donors.

In normal times, 80 to 100 blood donations per day are enough to meet the demand across the country. At the moment, however, 120 or even 130 donations are needed per day. This is due to an increased demand from hospitals.

Anne Schumacher, medical director of the Red Cross' blood donation service, explains that the non-profit assumes that hospitals are currently catching up on surgeries that had to be postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Every adult between the ages of 18 and 60 can donate blood in Luxembourg. Around 13,000 people are registered as donors with the Red Cross. The criteria deciding who is allowed to donate are very strict, as high quality must be guaranteed at all times with blood.

According to Schumacher, a woman who is breastfeeding is for instance not allowed to donate for her own protection. Other reasons aim at protecting the person receiving the blood, for instance if there is a risk that infectious agents might be transmitted.

For decades, homosexual men were not allowed to donate blood. One homosexual relationship was enough to be banned for life. This has partly changed since 1 January.

Schumacher explains that now, the Red Cross' staff only asks questions aimed at ensuring "the safety of a donation made on a specific day". In fact, staff asks one specific question, regardless of the gender of the potential donor: If the person had a sexual encounter with a man over the 12 months prior to their donation. If the answer is no, then the person is free to choose between a blood or plasma donation. If the answer is yes, then staff members will advise the person to only donate plasma on that day.

Plasma is currently in high demand around the world, as it is also used to produce pharmaceuticals. In the case illustrated in the previous paragraph, the donated plasma would be quarantined for four months. If the donor once again tests negative at the end of that time period, the plasma is free to be used.

But why these strict rules regarding sexual intercourse, and more specifically homosexual men?

Schumacher states that the last report from the AIDS Surveillance Committee determined that patients who had been infected with AIDS are "proportionally more likely to be homosexual than heterosexual".

Nevertheless, for those working at the Red Cross' blood donation service, the new guidelines are a "radical step" which no longer focusses on a person's sexual orientation but exclusively on "risk behaviour".