New blood testing centre put back to 2009

A NEW centre for the Cork branch of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), as recommended by an international panel of experts, is unlikely to be operational before 2009.

The delay in building the facility will also delay the introduction of NATS testing, a sophisticated test for HIV and hepatitis C, because the existing IBTS facility is not big enough to accommodate the expansion of services.

Yesterday, IBTS acting chief executive Andrew Kelly said the board of the blood bank was “extremely disappointed” that funding for a new centre would not be a priority in this year’s Budget.