10,000 blood donations needed to avoid hospital shortages

A TOTAL of 10,000 blood donations are needed over the next three weeks to avoid a serious shortage in hospitals over the summer months, the blood bank warned yesterday.

Hospital demand for blood and blood products has increased this year and the summer holiday period is putting the Irish Blood Transfusion Service under huge pressure to meet demand.

Since the beginning of the year the blood bank has issued almost 2,000 more units of blood than during the same period last year.