Blood study may show how widely Covid-19 circulated before first Irish case confirmed

A study of donated Irish blood samples is expected to reveal how widely Covid-19 was circulating in the State in the months before the first case of the disease was confirmed on February 29th of last year.

Virologists at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) are looking for antibodies in tens of thousands of archived samples which could reveal asymptomatic cases in late 2019 and early last year. With up to 140,000 samples added per year, the archive offers a detailed, nationwide snapshot.

Results are expected this autumn and will be published in a peer reviewed journal, the IBTS said as it published its annual report for 2020 on Wednesday.

The Covid-19 pandemic ended up costing the IBTS about €1.7 million last year, a time that also saw a decline in blood donations and a scramble to meet the demands of the pandemic which required various safety adaptations.

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The report said the service responded and implemented measures to prepare “for what would become one of the greatest challenges that the organisation, and indeed the country, has faced in modern times”.

The number of whole blood donations dropped from 130,850 in 2019 to 123,304 last year, a 6 per cent decrease. Donor numbers also fell by about 10 per cent from 80,284 to 73,023.

Hospital demand

This was partly explained by the service moving to an appointment system and limiting slots for new donors as a means to avoid delays at clinics. As a consequence, new donor numbers plummeted by 57 per cent while hospital demand for products also fell sharply in the initial months of the pandemic.

“The IBTS had to respond quickly to a rapidly evolving situation, introducing an appointments system for donors virtually overnight and maintaining the national blood supply by continuing to operate donation clinics throughout the country in a manner that ensured the safety of our donors and our people,” its chief executive Orla O’Brien said.

The IBTS aims to have a seven day blood supply to ensure it can maintain hospital supplies. This necessitates the weekly operation of about 40 nationwide clinics.

“With the onset of Covid-19, this capability was significantly challenged. Clinics still had to be undertaken, venues secured, safety of staff, donors and blood guaranteed, and donors reassured.”

From mid-March to the end of last year, donor services conducted more than 150,000 pre-screenings and bookings over the telephone.

Protective equipment

Expenditure for the year surpassed €70 million, up from €67.5 million in 2019, due in part to an increase in staffing as a result of the pandemic and the cost of protective equipment.

Meanwhile, the IBTS said its independent review committee looking into restrictions on gay men donating blood should have recommendations by the end of the year.

In 2017 a permanent ban was replaced by a 12-month deferral for men that had sex with men (the so-called MSM group), as well as other high risk activities including people with partners from areas with high prevalence of HIV.

"With other blood establishments in Europe and America now making changes to their deferral for MSM it was felt that this needed to be reviewed in Ireland, " the report said.