APRIL 2025

URGENT request for Blood Donor

Good morning,

Need to maintain blood supplies to Irish hospital

The IBTS need to maintain blood supplies to Irish hospitals.

This year’s severe weather events, and high levels of respiratory illness within communities has significantly impacted our blood collections and we need the public’s help to maintain blood supplies to Irish hospitals..

In 2024 the IBTS issued the highest number of blood donation units to Irish hospitals in over a decade, at just under 128,500 units. This exceptionally high demand has continued unabated into 2025.

We are seeking new donors, younger donors, donors of all ethnicities and in particular, those of African heritage.

We are asking people who might never have given blood before, or it’s been a while, to make it their goal to give blood, and the priceless gift of life, to those in our communities and hospitals who need it.

Thanks & kind regards,

Alex

Alex O’Connor | Donor Recruitment Executive

Donor Services I Irish Blood Transfusion Service | Limerick Centre | Carrig House | Cloughkeating Avenue | Raheen Business Park | Limerick | V94 AH97

Seirbhís Fuilaistriúcháin na hÉireann | Ionad Luimnigh | Teach na Carraige | Ascal Chloch Uí Chéitinn | Páirc Ghnó an Ráithín | Luimneach | V94 AH97

T: +353 61 306980  | Mobile 087 4166732  |  e: alex.o’connor@ibts.ie | w: www.giveblood.ie

JANUARY 2025

The Irish blood Transfusion service would be grateful if you could share details of Limerick’s Blood Donation Clinics with your school parents and staff, particularly those scheduled for the Crescent Shopping centre. This situation has the potential to impact on surgeries requiring blood product support.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

St.Munchins College Corbally
Monday 20th January
4.50pm – 8.10pm
New Donors welcome
Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment

Crescent Shopping Centre 
Wednesday 22nd & Thursday 23rd January
15:50 - 19:10
New Donors welcome
Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment

Blood donations were severely impacted by the bad weather so a  PRE-AMBER ALERT letter was issued all Irish hospitals asking hospitals to reduce their blood stock holding.

This enables the IBTS to manage the limited blood supply available more effectively across the health service.

 If the IBTS has to issue an ‘amber alert letter’ which is the next escalation level of the blood shortage plan, it would have an immediate implication for hospitals and for elective surgical procedures requiring blood support’

 This situation has been brought about by reduced Donor attendance due to the bad weather at a time when the service is coming out of the Christmas period, combined with ever increasing demand for blood products.

 The IBTS is appealing to Blood Donors old and new to help by attending these Limerick City Blood Donation Clinics.

Thanks & kind regards,

Alex

Alex O’Connor | Donor Recruitment Executive

Donor Services I Irish Blood Transfusion Service | Limerick Centre | Carrig House | Cloughkeating Avenue | Raheen Business Park | Limerick | V94 AH97

Seirbhís Fuilaistriúcháin na hÉireann | Ionad Luimnigh | Teach na Carraige | Ascal Chloch Uí Chéitinn | Páirc Ghnó an Ráithín | Luimneach | V94 AH97

T: +353 61 306980  |  e: alex.o’connor@ibts.ie | w: www.giveblood.ie

++++

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service are reaching out with a request to help support our Limerick Blood Donation Clinics. Our hospitals across Ireland are facing an urgent need this year, requiring 6% more blood than last year. To meet this challenge, we need 15,000 new blood donors to come forward and give blood.

Your help in spreading the word is crucial. Please share the details of our upcoming blood donation clinic with your family, friends, neighbours, and colleagues.

Monday 16th September

4:20pm – 7.40pm

Castletroy Park hotel

New Donors welcome

Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment

Wednesday 18th & Thursday 18th September

3.50pm – 7.10pm

Crescent Shopping Centre

New Donors welcome

Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment

New donors are always welcome! To make an appointment, please call 1800 222 111.

We deeply value the support of our dedicated blood donors and strongly encourage maximum attendance. If you know anyone who might be interested in donating, please forward this email to them.

Your support is truly invaluable. Together, we can ensure that our hospitals have the essential blood supplies they need during this critical time.

Thank you for your continued commitment and support.

This August, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) faces one of its most challenging times of the year.

With many people away on holidays and busy with seasonal activities, clinic attendance often declines, making it challenging to maintain the critical blood supplies needed by Irish Hospitals.

This year, the challenge is even greater as hospitals across Ireland are requiring 6% more blood than this time last year.

To meet this increased demand we need another 15,000 new blood donors come forward and give blood this year.

We are calling on the community to support our blood donation clinic at:

Church of Abundant Life, Henry Street (opposite Garda Station)

Wednesday 28th August from 3.50pm – 7.10pm

AND

Crescent Shopping Centre, City mall (Entrance beside Milano)

Thursday 29th August from 3.50pm – 7.10pm

Please phone 1800 222 111 for appointment

New donors are welcome and just one contribution can make a difference.

Appointments can be booked at 1800 222 111. We urge anyone who is able to donate to take this opportunity to help.

Did You Know?

Giving Blood

Giving blood makes it possible for many people to lead normal healthy lives.  Every year thousands of patients require blood transfusions in our hospitals, because they are undergoing surgery, recovering from cancer or have been in a serious accident. 

·        Only 3% of the eligible Irish population give blood, providing blood for a population of over 4 million

·        3,000 blood donors are needed each week in Ireland

·        Blood is required every day of the year

What blood is used for

One in four people will need a blood transfusion at some point in their lives

Over 1,000 Irish people receive transfusions every week in Ireland

Approximately 70,000 patients will have transfusions in Irish hospitals this year

The IBTS supplies hospitals in the Republic of Ireland with blood and blood products 365 days a year

Blood is required for much of the services our health system provides. For example, a car accident victim may require up to 30 units of blood, a bleeding ulcer could require anything between 3-30 units of blood, or a coronary artery bypass may use between 1-5 units of blood

A typical unit of blood lasts for just 35 days, but in some cases such as blood used for very young children; this blood must be used within 5 days of it's collection.

Information about your blood

An average adult has between 10 and 12 pints of blood

7% of a person's body weight is made up of blood

Human blood travels 60,000 miles per day on its journey through the arteries, arterioles and capillaries and back through the venules and veins

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body

Blood carries carbon dioxide and other waste products back to the lungs, kidneys and liver for disposal

There are about 1 billion red cells in two to three drops of blood

Blood Group Distribution Facts

The most common blood group in Ireland is O positive (47% of the population)

The rarest blood group in Ireland is AB negative (1% of the population)

The most common blood group is O, accounting for about 46% of the world's population. However, in some areas other blood groups predominate, in Norway for example, type A is the most prevalent

People in the West of Ireland are predominantly of blood group O

There is a higher concentration of Group A blood in counties which historically received Viking, Anglo Norman and English population settlements

There are more people with Rhesus negative blood on the East coast than the West

·        Read about Blood Groups here

Further information at www.giveblood.ie