According to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, a scarcity with some groups forced them to import blood, reports RTE.
According to the report, 270 units of O, A, and B RhD negative were delivered this morning.
The majority of blood types had less than three days of supply earlier this month, prompting the IBTS to request an extra 2,000 donations.
Its Medical and Scientific Director, Dr. Andy Godfrey, said in a statement today that the appeal’s reaction was “exceptional”, reports RTE.
8,893 units were collected by the program, a 1,141 increase over the same period previous year.
“However, while an appeal would usually provide us with an additional 2.5 days of O RhD Negative, on this occasion O RhD Negative stocks actually fell by 0.8 days,” Dr Godfrey added, reports RTE.
“The ongoing issue is because RhD Negative donors are a small proportion of the overall donor population which is now being exceeded by the increasing patient demand for RhD Negative blood. Optimising blood utilisation across jurisdictions in Europe is now routine practice and blood services are encouraged to have collaborative arrangements in place. Preventing any adverse impact on patient care is always our priority, so instead of restricting supply to hospitals, we are moving to following routine practice and liaising with other blood establishments to share these limited resources,” he said, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
