Credit: Luxembourg Red Cross
On Tuesday 20 October 2026, the Luxembourg Red Cross issued an urgent appeal for blood donations, warning that current blood stocks are below the minimum level required to ensure an adequate supply to Luxembourg hospitals in the coming weeks.
According to the organisation, the situation is particularly concerning for blood groups A Rh-negative and O Rh-negative, whose stocks are currently at their lowest levels.
Available blood stocks are currently sufficient for only eight to nine days of hospital requirements, a level that is not enough to cover a possible exceptional increase in demand or a sustained decline in donations.
The organisation attributed the situation to several factors. Donor numbers were particularly low during the summer due to the heatwave. Unlike in previous years, this decline was not offset by an increase in donations at the start of the new school year. In addition, the return of seasonal infections, such as colds, rhinopharyngitis and flu-like symptoms, is currently reducing the number of people able to donate blood.
The Luxembourg Red Cross noted that hospital demand remains constant throughout the year. Blood products are used daily to treat patients with chronic illnesses, patients undergoing surgery and accident victims.
The humanitarian organisation is therefore calling on all eligible individuals to donate blood in the coming days or weeks. The aim is to replenish stocks and ensure an adequate supply to hospitals through the end-of-year holiday period. Red blood cell concentrates, which contain the red blood cells collected during a donation, can only be stored for 42 days.
"We call on everyone who is able to donate: come now or in the coming weeks. Every donation made today helps us build up the necessary reserves to get through the holiday season without concern and continue meeting the needs of patients in Luxembourg's hospitals," said Anne Schuhmacher, Director of the Blood Transfusion Centre.
Blood donations can be made at the Blood Transfusion Centre in Luxembourg City (42 Boulevard Joseph II) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 08:00 until 16:00 and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 08:00 until 18:00. Free parking is available at the Luxembourg Red Cross headquarters (44 Boulevard Joseph II).
The Esch-Belval medical centre (3-5 Avenue du Swing) is also open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 08:00 until 16:00, with two hours of free parking available at Belval Plaza. A calendar of external blood donation sessions is available on the blood donation website.
Those wishing to donate blood are advised to make an appointment in advance at https://dondusang.lu/en/ or by calling 2755-4000. Potential donors can, however, attend without an appointment at the Blood Transfusion Centre in Luxembourg City. Those who are unsure whether they can donate can complete an online preliminary eligibility questionnaire at https://dondusang.lu/nos-questionnaires/.
