Swiss Red Cross cuts blood supply to Greece after payment arrears

BERLIN – The Swiss branch of the Red Cross says it is cutting its supply of donor blood to Greece because the country has failed to pay its bills on time.

The head of the Swiss Red Cross' transfusion service says the number of blood packets delivered to Greece will be halved to 14,000 by 2020.

Rudolf Schwabe on Tuesday confirmed Swiss media reports that Greece had run up debts of several million Swiss francs (dollars) in the past.

Those debts have been repaid but Schwabe says the non-profit SRC took the decision to limit its financial risk.

The Swiss blood sent to Greece comes from unused emergency stockpiles. It helps meet high demand in Greece caused by the prevalence of thalassemia, a genetic disorder whose carriers need regular blood transfusions.