Giving Blood

Since the inception of the National Blood Transfusion Board's services, the people of this State have been generous in making…

Since the inception of the National Blood Transfusion Board's services, the people of this State have been generous in making their voluntary donations. Relative to many other nations, they have been exemplary in giving one of the simplest but most effective means of saving life to those in need. In the 50s and 60s the air of camaraderie among donors, whether in Pelican House or to mobile donation units, was always palpable as they sipped their cups of tea or glasses of stout after giving their "pint" and the presentation of silver and gold pelican pins to those who had given more than most was always a jolly affair, well attended and frequently covered by the media. To be a blood donor conferred a remarkable sense of well-being and worthiness.

But times change, and it was probably to be expected that the relatively recent round of scandalous contaminations of the blood supply would reduce the public enthusiasm for donation and the high regard in which voluntary donors had hitherto been held. The scandals, however, were not the only factor which has led to what is now a critical decline in the available blood supply. It could be argued that there has been an increase in selfishness in the community which causes people either to forget or ignore the extent to which they can help very ill patients back from death to health by the simple act of donating a unit of blood. And maybe people just feel busier than they used to be so that they find more excuses for not taking an hour out of their schedule to make the necessary visit to a blood donation centre.

Whatever the excuses that may be found, there is every good reason to restore the provision of voluntary blood donations so that there need be no further cancellations of necessary surgical operations on patients in need simply because there is no transfusion available for them. There is ample evidence from around the world to show that a blood supply that is volunteered is infinitely preferable and very much safer than a supply which is part of a commercial transaction. It is good to know that, as far as the Medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Service Board is concerned, the board is entirely dependent on voluntary unpaid donations "and will remain that way into the foreseeable future".

It may take some time yet for Dr Murphy and his colleagues fully to restore the good reputation which the blood bank enjoyed a couple of decades ago. But already, they have greatly improved the donor screening processes which are even more essential than voluntary donations in securing the safety of the blood supply, and further and tighter screening processes are promised imminently to remove even remote risks. A new state-of-the-art headquarters is expected to be ready for use on the campus of St James's Hospital by the end of next year. The Minister for Health and the Government must ensure that all necessary resources are made available to the BTSB to make supply as safe as possible in all respects. Meanwhile, if extra resources are required for publicity to attract more donors and training to increase staff expertise, these must also be provided from the Exchequer. And donors must make an act of faith in the new structures and processes already put in place and about to be put in place so that there may, once again, be ample and safe blood supplies to save lives and restore sick people to health.