Blood supplies resume to hospitals
Last Thursday, the IBTS asked hospitals to cancel non-urgent surgery planned for the following four to five days due to a severe blood shortage.
It was the first time in more than three years that the blood bank had to appeal to hospitals to postpone elective surgery because of a shortage of blood. The appeal also drew a strong response from blood donors with 2,600 turning up at its centres on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
IBTS national medical director Dr William Murphy said the "wonderful" response from the public has allowed hospitals to resume normal activities from today.
He said the blood bank very much regretted the disruption and inconvenience the shortage caused to patients and to hospitals. An IBTS spokesperson confirmed about 2,000 donations were taken over the three days but the supply remained tight.
She said people must continue to make a conscious effort to give blood throughout the summer and to bear in mind that blood only had a shelf life of 35 days.
The IBTS needs about 3,000 units of blood every week to ensure there is a sufficient supply for hospitals.
About 3,500 elective procedures take place in hospitals every week and many cannot proceed without the availability of a blood transfusion.
Even though blood was in short supply in recent days the IBTS made sure there were still blood supplies available for emergencies.
Demand for blood and blood products continues to rise but the numbers giving blood regularly have dropped.
Meanwhile, to mark World Blood Donor Day yesterday, the IBTS released 500 red balloons in Dublin the number of donations needed every day in Ireland.
