The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) has made an urgent call for an additional 2,000 blood donations in the coming month to maintain the country’s blood reserves. The current level of most blood types has dropped to less than what would be required for three days, as per the IBTS. Ideally, the service tries to maintain a seven-day supply. However, O negative, A negative, and B negative reserves are at a critically low level of less than three days, and O positive, which accounts for almost half of the population, is at 3.5 days.
Paul McKinney, the individual in charge of donor services and logistics at the IBTS, highlighted the persistently high demand for blood in hospitals during the summer period. In fact, the amount of blood units given to hospitals in August surpassed any figure within the last ten years. The elevated need for blood has carried over into September. McKinney stressed that they needed to increase the collected donations by approximately 500 each week for every blood group in order to keep up with the demand. He commented that the increased levels of illness, seasonal travel, and typical demands associated with the resume of school have caused limitations in donor availability, and are continuing to cause difficulties heading into the autumn season.
He urged the regular donors who receive notifications about upcoming clinics within the following weeks, particularly within Dublin and Cork, to prioritise attending these as this is crucial to meeting the increased hospital demand. The IBTS is particularly advocating for new donors of African descent to contribute towards the national blood donor panel as a means to broaden the diversity of the donor base and provide a better blood type match for patients.
Mr Kinney conveyed that an early stage warning letter was sent to all hospitals on the 27th of September, advising limitations on specific blood groups’ distribution. The hospitals are requested to decrease their reserve quantities which, consequently, allows the IBTS to more effectively manage the scarce blood resources throughout the healthcare system. He cautioned that if the IBTS is required to issue a second-tier alert warning, this would have immediate ramifications on hospitals as well as any planned surgical procedures that require blood support.
The IBTS encourages potential new donors to visit giveblood.ie to take the IBTS eligibility test and dial 1800 731137 to schedule an appointment.