Red Cross criticised for giving free beer to blood donors

The Flemish Red Cross is offering two cans of beer in exchange for plasma donation as part of an awareness-raising campaign that has caused some controversy in the region.

The campaign is aimed at increasing awareness among 18 to 25-year-olds regarding plasma donation. All young Flemish people who donate between August and September will receive two cans of beer, one of which will be alcohol-free.

The Flemish Centre for Alcohol Expertise (VAD) has called the campaign "mind-boggling" and "absurd", saying the Flemish Red Cross is reinforcing the idea that alcohol is harmless.

“Portraying alcohol as a festive drink, a gift or a way of saying thank you trivialises its consumption,” the VAD wrote in a letter to the Red Cross, asking it to reconsider the campaign. Your action reinforces this image among young people.”

The centre's director, Katleen Peleman, said that the real objective behind offering the non-alcoholic option is to "sell the alcoholic versions" and that the hypocrisy is especially hard to swallow from the Red Cross, which "works to promote health and is an authority in this field [and yet] is promoting an alcoholic beverage".

“Alcohol causes damage,” said Peleman. “Just look at the number of people who end up in emergency rooms after excessive consumption.”

No level of alcohol consumption is without risk to health or social life, Belgium’s Higher Health Council reiterated in January. In this context, Peleman said: "This campaign is all the more shocking."

Just 46% of Belgium’s current plasma needs are met by voluntary donors, with the rest imported.

“We want to break this dependency,” the Flemish Red Cross said when launching the campaign.

“We’ve noticed that young people who donate plasma for the first time tend to continue doing so in the long term. That is why this target group is so important.”

Belgian demand for blood donations has doubled in 14 years. Some 25,000 patients used plasma-derived medicines last year.

“Donating plasma only takes an hour and saves lives,” said Vincent Verbeecke, spokesperson for the Flemish Red Cross.

“Donations are used to treat people with serious immune disorders or patients who have undergone chemotherapy.”

More than 19,000 young Flemish people aged 18 to 25 donated plasma in 2024. The goal is to reach more than 20,000 donors this year, including 3,500 as a result of the new campaign.