On the basis of voluntary reports from participating blood establishments, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut publishes data on the national supply situation of red blood cell concentrates. For this purpose, the national supply of these concentrates for all eight blood groups is presented in a "blood donation barometer". The participating blood establishments represent more than half of the red blood cell concentrates produced in Germany.
The predicted duration of sufficient supply ("blood supply") is given in days and is calculated by comparing the stocks reported by the participating blood establishments with the consumption figures for the corresponding calendar week of the previous year.
Representation of the national supply of red blood cell concentrates for all eight blood groups. The range corresponds to the predicted duration of sufficient supply in days and is based on the experience of the blood establishments from the previous year. If the range is more than three days (yellow and green), the supply corresponds to the daily demand for red blood cell concentrates; if the range of assured supply falls below three days, the daily demand is greater than the supply (red).
Source: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
The blood donation barometer illustrates the calculated supply of red blood cell concentrates of all reporting blood establishments for the current calendar week. If the stock availability e will last more than three days, it is assumed on the basis of empirical values that the daily requirement for the supply of patients can be covered. If the supply of red blood cell concentrates per blood group falls below the quantity that is sufficient for a three-day supply, measures such as an increased volume of donations arerequired in order to be able to ensure patient care.
For data collection, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut offers the blood establishments the use of a specific database. The entry of data on the supply of red blood cell concentrates by the blood establishments is voluntary and can be done regularly within a few minutes. The blood establishments thus have access to detailed information, such as the quantity of red blood cell concentrates in stock. The detailed data is password-protected and can only be used by the blood establishments and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. The figure above serves as a graphic illustration of the overall situation.
For the publication of the blood donation barometer, a cumulative data evaluation is carried out by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. The stock availability of red blood cell concentrates of each blood group is given in days as a weighted mean value. The mean value is calculated from all recorded stocks of red cell concentrates of each blood group and is weighted proportionally according to the size of the stocks.
The data on the national supply situation with red cell concentrates is published regularly by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and is intended to enable further measures to secure the supply.
The blood establishments are responsible for determining and implementing appropriate measures.
Updated: 24.06.2024
