Donors respond to public appeal for more blood

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service says there has been a "fantastic response" from the public to its appeal for increased donations.

Nearly 840 people attended blood donation clinics around the State yesterday, a spokeswoman for the service said last night.

She said this was about three times the average number who attend on Fridays in recent times.

The national medical director of the transfusion service, Dr Willie Murphy, will decide on Monday if there are sufficient blood stocks to allow for elective or non-urgent procedures to resume next week. On Wednesday, hospitals across the State were asked to cancel elective surgery for four or five days because of a severe shortage of blood.

There are an estimated 3,500 elective procedures every week. While not all of these cases would require blood transfusions, many would. The transfusion service requires 3,000 blood donations a week.

A spokeswoman told The Irish Times last night that while the service welcomed the increased numbers attending at clinics yesterday, it required more people to donate blood consistently right through the summer months.

The service is to hold an additional blood donation clinic in its D'Olier Street premises in Dublin tomorrow from 11am-4pm.

Meanwhile Minister for Health Mary Harney yesterday made a special appeal for blood donations. She said blood donors made an essential contribution to society.

Every year 2 per cent of the population needed a blood transfusion, Ms Harney added. "One in four of us will require blood at some point in our lives."

The blood service's special appeal for blood donors came in the wake of what it described as a "serious reduction in donations".

On Thursday it said this was a problem which had arisen over recent months despite efforts by the organisation to increase the numbers of donors. Since January, attendances at clinics has fallen by more than 4,000 compared with the period in 2004.

In recent years measures introduced to prevent the risk of transmission of vCJD have also resulted in a reduction in the number of donors.