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Parisians are waiting for hours for their chance to give blood for attack victims

People line up to give their blood near the Carillon bar, the day after a deadly attack on November 14, 2015, in Paris, France.
People line up to give their blood near the Carillon bar, the day after a deadly attack on November 14, 2015, in Paris, France.
Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images

Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris left at least 127 dead and about 200 people injured, causing an increased demand for blood to help the wounded. These photos show how the people of Paris are responding: People are lining up around the block to donate blood at hospitals all over the city.

There are blood donation centers operating all over Paris. Some people are waiting hours for their chance to help the wounded.

There are so many volunteers that, according to Spiegel's Mathieu von Rohr, "many are being sent home." To help deal with this problem, the authorities are asking that people space out their donations over the next week, instead of standing in line to give today.

Something similar happened in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States: so much blood was given that authorities were forced to throw some of it away. The lesson: giving blood during an emergency is good, but giving blood regularly — whether or not an emergency is in the news — is even better.