Blood bank defends stopping pressure checks

THE Irish Blood Transfusion Service has defended its decision to stop taking donors’ blood pressure in a bid to boost supplies.

The blood bank said that measuring blood pressure at a donation clinic was unnecessary because it did not make the process any safer.

More than 1,200 donors were turned down last year because of a high or low blood pressure reading and represented 3.6% of all deferrals. Just under one in five donations are deferred for a variety of reasons, including high or low blood pressure.