Overview
- DRK reports that supplies for some blood groups cover only about 1.5 days, far below the four-day target held for emergencies.
- Donations slumped after the holidays as a wave of respiratory infections sidelined donors, who must wait one to four weeks after illness.
- Snow and ice forced cancellations of collection events, creating acute gaps in northern regions such as Lower Saxony.
- Clinics are receiving fewer units even as hospitals require roughly 14,000 to 15,000 donations each day for surgeries and ongoing care.
- The DRK urges healthy, eligible people to book appointments now, cautioning that waits may be longer and that limited shelf life slows stock recovery.