THE Blood Transfusion Service Board says there has not been any drop in public donations, on foot of the controversy about blood infected with the HIV virus.
Regular donors were "continuing to rally", a spokesman for the service said yesterday, and there was no evidence that public confidence had been shaken. The service receives an average 3,000 donations a week at its headquarters in Dublin and through mobile units around the States, the spokesman said.
Any increase in requests for donors with common blood groups related to the time of year, the spokesman said, as "Christmas is a time of giving". Some donors have not only received more frequent notifications by post, but were also phoned at home.
The media would "be the first to know" if there was any shortage in supply, the spokesman said.