The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is urgently seeking an additional 2,000 blood donations over the next four weeks to support the national blood supply.
Most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock, according to the IBTS. It aims to have seven days supply but current levels including O negative, A negative and B negative are under three days supply, and O positive, at nearly half the population, is at 3.5 days.
Paul McKinney, director of donor services and logistics at the IBTS, said there has been a consistently high hospital demand for blood over the summer months, and in August it issued the highest amount of blood units to hospitals in over a decade.
“This high demand has continued through September. and with a bank holiday fast approaching we need to boost our collections by nearly 500 donations per week in all blood groups to be able to continue to meet the demand,” he said.
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“High sickness levels, holiday travel combined with the traditional back to school demands have all had an impact on donor availability throughout the summer and now into autumn. We are asking regular donors who are texted for upcoming clinics over the coming weeks to make an extra effort to attend, especially in Dublin and Cork where we have clinic availability every week. This is vital to address the increased demand from hospitals.”
The IBTS is particularly encouraging new donors of African heritage to join the national blood donor panel to help diversify the donor base and get better blood type matches for patients.
Mr Kinney said a pre-amber alert letter was issued to all hospitals on September 27th restricting issues of certain blood groups, and hospitals have been asked to reduce their stock holding. This enables the IBTS to manage the limited blood supply available more effectively across the health service.
“If the IBTS has to issue an amber alert letter, which is the next escalation level of the blood shortage plan, it would have an immediate implication for hospitals and for elective surgical procedures requiring blood support,” he added.
Potential new donors should visit giveblood.ie and take the IBTS eligibility test and can call them on 1800 731137 to make an appointment.
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