The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has called on people to donate blood during the summer months because the season represents a “challenging”’ time for donations.

The transfusion service says it needs 15,000 donors a month to maintain a seven-days supply at all times.

However they are under that supply for O positive, O negative, A positive and B negative blood types.

Transfusion service operating director Paul McKinney said holidays and big events such as the World Cup can pose difficulties when it comes to donations.

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“The summer months are always a challenging time for blood donation. Children are on holidays or doing exams, the evenings are long and fine, or there are other distractions such as the World Cup.Throughout the summer, people are travelling abroad on holidays so we are asking them to give blood before they go,” he said.

The transfusion service said those who wish to donate should visit giveblood.ie to see if they are eligible.