“The stock of blood reserves is relatively low,” states Lenert in response to a by CSV deputies Max Hengel and Martine Hansen. But for now, she reassures, various calls to donations--by the Red Cross, the government and media--have worked well enough to guarantee the grand duchy’s independence from other countries.

The covid-19 pandemic has impacted the rhythm of donations, Lenert confirms. Patients who caught the coronavirus may not donate blood within the four weeks following the infection. With the waves of infections that rolled over the country between 2020 and 2022, many donors were forced to stay away.

For now though, Luxembourg hospitals and the transfusion centre can provide all blood groups to those in need. Whether or not a shortage may occur in the near future is hard to say, according to Lenert. But “the situation is evaluated on a daily basis by the transfusion centre and the indicators of the collection and distribution in hospitals is closely followed.”

In the last 10 years, the number of donors has increased by 2%. In 2021, 13,719 donated their blood, according to the minister. Aphresis donors--who give their stem cells for instance--have even seen their numbers grow by 12.3% in 2020, and 28.9% in 2019, after eight years of decreasing.