Call for public donations of blood ahead of holiday period

People are being urged to give the gift of blood this Christmas.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is calling on the public to donate over the Christmas and new year period, during what it describes as a very difficult time for supplies.

It says holiday days this year fall on its busiest collection days. As a result, it is putting on 30 additional clinics to make up for the shortfall.

Paul McKinney from the service says there's always a big demand for a transfusion over the Christmas period:

"Unfortunately, some of the days that the holiday periods are falling on are some of our busiest collection days where in fact we're losing 45 clinics that we would normally have, so that's why we're having to put these extra clinics on the sundays and the fridays.

"It's very difficult, people are very busy but it's really important that they do consider. Please make a donation."

He added: "We will require 12,000 donors to donate between December 9 and January 8. Blood just lasts 35 days. Blood for newborn babies must be less than five days old.

"The one thing i would ask is if donors with O negative blood, that's the universal blood group, for a big special effort, please, to donate."