Plea for O negative donors as blood supplies dwindle to just four days due to Ophelia

An urgent call for O negative blood donors has been made by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service after supplies dwindled to just four days because of the loss of a full day’s collection due to Storm Ophelia.

“We especially need O negative blood at the moment,” a spokesperson said. Only 8% of the population have 0 negative blood but it makes up 15% of the blood supplied to hospitals as it can be used for any patient.

The cancellations of all clinics on Monday led to a shortfall of about 500 donations. Clinics were back to normal yesterday, with the exception of a scheduled clinic in Donegal town.