THE Blood Transfusion Service Board last night issued an urgent appeal for blood donations, especially from lapsed donors. A spokesman said the board was struggling to maintain a minimum, requirement of 3,000 donations.
More donors were being rejected because of a more stringent questionnaire, he said, and there "had been a fall off in donations following months of adverse publicity. The BTSB chief executive, Mr Liam Dunbar, said reserves were critically low.
The board normally keeps three" days supply and this has fallen to two days. In the blood groups O negative and A negative, reserves are down to a day's supply, he said. A negative is a crucial blood stock as it can be given in emergencies to patients with all blood types.
Mr Dunbar said the donor public represents about 5 per cent of the population. "It's a small pool and you only need a minor fall off to have a crisis." He said there were no plans to import blood stocks as happened earlier this year.
"We've been trying to think of a strategy to do it [encourage donations]," he said. "No matter what we try and do, the tide turns back on us." Clinics in Dublin and Cork will be open tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.