Following concerns raised by the Luxembourg Red Cross over a growing deficit in blood donation services, Minister of Health Martine Deprez announced on Wednesday that the state plans to take over the service in the long term.

The Luxembourg government plans to nationalise the handling of blood donations in the future, Minister of Health Martine Deprez announced on Wednesday. Deprez made this statement in response to questions raised by MPs Françoise Kemp of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and Djuna Bernard of the Green Party (Déi Gréng).

Currently, the Luxembourg Red Cross manages the collection, testing, storage, and distribution of blood donations in the country. However, on Monday, the Red Cross disclosed it expects to contribute €2 million from its own funds to cover the increasing shortfall.

The minister attributed the growing deficit to the declining sales of blood donation products. For this reason, Deprez doubts that raising prices will have a significant impact. Negotiations with the National Health Fund (CNS), which sets these price rates, are ongoing and are expected to conclude in the coming weeks.

The government is awaiting a report from the Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) to assess the required state funding to support the Red Cross’ operations until the service can be fully nationalised, Deprez added.