Surge in blood stock averts threat

THE threat of further hospital operations being cancelled because of blood stock shortages has faded following an upsurge in donations this week.

More than 1,000 people donated blood on Monday, which was "more than exceptional", according to Dr William Murphy, chief medical officer with the Blood Transfusion Service Board, (BTSB). "On a normal good day we would get about 600, or 650 donations tops," he said.

Donations yesterday were said to be close to the same total. "Activity at the clinics is markedly up on the usual," said Dr Murphy.

The increase follows appeals made by the board to overcome a shortfall of about 2,000 units, or donations, nationwide. After recently ordering 600 units of blood from Holland, the BTSB wrote to thousands of previous donors asking for immediate donations.

Blood donated earlier this week was being processed and tested for viruses yesterday. The BTSB was in a position to start restocking hospitals last night, said Dr Murphy.

But he warned the increase in donations had to continue for at least another three days in order to make up for the blood shortfall.

"We will be very much better off in the next couple of days, although we still have to make a sustained effort to bring the stocks back up. It will take us a bit of time yet," he said.

He added that donations would continue to be needed, as blood has only a five-week shelf-life.

As well as the board's fixed clinics in Dublin and Cork, and a collection site in Limerick, four mobile clinics were in operation this week, in Wicklow, Bantry, north Dublin and Sligo.

The blood shortage had led to the cancellation of a number of operations at the Meath Hospital in Dublin. But other hospitals were said to have overcome the threat. A spokeswoman for Galway University Hospital, which had warned it was close to cancelling surgery, said there were no restrictions to services yesterday.

The Meath, St Columcille's, Naas, and James Connolly Memorial hospitals also reported no cancellations yesterday.