Blood bank restores supply to hospitals

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) advised hospitals today that they could resume normal surgery schedules on Monday following an overwhelming public response to its national appeal for blood donors.

Earlier this week the service had advised hospitals to postpone elective surgery due to a shortage of blood.

Over 3,500 people turned out to give blood this week in response to the appeal enabling the board to collect 2,997 units of blood.

A spokeswoman for the service said: "This is a fantastic response and we hope and expect it to continue over the coming weeks and that people who gave blood this week will come back to us again in 90 days."

However it is understood that blood shortages still persist in some hospitals and normal surgery schedules will not return for a time.

The IBTS paid tribute to the many donors who queued to give blood over the past few days. In a statement today it said: "When we have a crisis appeal, we receive a huge response from people which inevitably leads to some delays as all donors have to go through a screening process before they actually get to the donation bed."

"For those people who couldn’t come in this week, please do so over the coming weeks as blood only lasts for 35 days. Therefore a staggered response from the public will mean a longer life for the nation’s blood supply," it added.

Approximately, 1,000 people receive blood transfusions every week in the Republic.