The cost of persuading people to give blood donations has contributed to a hefty rise in the price charged to hospitals for blood and blood products, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service says.
Blood stocks have fallen to "worrying" levels this week, according to a spokeswoman.
The Department of Health has sanctioned a rise in charges. As a result, the price of a bag of blood has risen by 46 per cent to €223.07. Up to now, the IBTS had not been charging the full, economic price for blood supplies, the spokeswoman said.
The service is having to pay more to get blood, as attitudes change. Five to 10 years ago, people were far more willing to give blood than at present. In addition, the service was often given the use of school halls and other facilities free of charge. Now it is far more likely to have to pay for the use of premises and has to use advertising to get donors.
The cost of new donor centres - such as Tuam, Co Galway, which opens at the end of March - has pushed up costs.
So have the extra tests which are now performed on blood and blood products and this in turn has pushed up the prices.
The service imports corneas from Colorado which, she said, is extremely expensive. The price charged for corneas has gone up by 39 per cent to €2,285.53.
Almost all blood types are below the required level, according to figures posted on the IBTS website http://www.ibts.ie yesterday.
In particular, supplies of A Positive and A Negative are more than 50 per cent below what is required.
Supplies of AB Negative are at one-third of the required level, with only AB Positive at levels exceeding what is needed.
•Comhairle na nOspidéal has reacted against health strategy plans which would see it losing most of its functions, according to a report in the Irish Medical News.
The body regulates the appointment of consultants and the location of specialities but is to lose this and other functions to the National Hospitals Agency.
Comhairle wants to keep these duties and to take over two new functions intended for the National Hospitals Agency: managing the proposed national waiting time database and facilitating closer linkages between the public and private hospital sectors.
Comhairle says it intends to engage in an examination of the situation.
Hospital Watch and Checkup on the Web: http://www.ireland.com/special/hospital