Blood supplies have dropped by 20 per cent and elective hospital operations face shortages next week unless donations improve, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service warned today.
IBTS deputy chief executive, Mr Andy Kelly, told ireland.comblood supplies had fallen to their lowest level since early this year. Holidays and new donor restrictions had combined to create the shortages, he added.
Mr Kelly said while all requests for blood from hospitals were being met it was often taking a number of days. He added if the situation did not improve over the next week the board would have to consider a public appeal for supplies.
"The drop in donations has now continued for several months and there is a real risk of a crisis if the fall off in donations is not reversed. Blood donors are asked to come out in force over the coming weeks. Surgery may have to be cancelled if more donors don't come forward to donate blood," he said.
The IBTS donor pool contracted by 12 per cent in March 31st this year when it decided to defer donations from donors who lived in the UK between 1980 – 1996 in an effort to minimise any possible risk of transmitting vCJD by blood transfusion.
The IBTS estimated there are 1.2 million people in Ireland eligible to give blood but have never done so. If 1 in 50 of these were to become regular donors, adequate supplies would always be available, the IBTS said.