THE Irish Blood Transfusion Service are urging the people of Clare to give a “priceless gift” and donate blood this Christmas and New Year.
Blood donation clinics will be open in Ennis across three days next week with donors called on to make a special effort this festive season.
The clinics will be held by appointment only at CBS Primary School, Ennis on Tuesday, December 27, Wednesday, December 28 and Thursday, December 29. To book an appointment contact 1800 222 111.
According to IBTS, donations are especially important given on-going challenges with donor availability due to the level of illness in the community, with nearly 20% of all appointments being
cancelled weekly.
“We really need blood donor’s help, we know it’s been hard and our donors have been amazing in their support. Donating blood is a selfless act for the person who gives it but is a priceless gift to the person who receives it. For the next three weeks, we will need to make over 10,000 appointments to safely support the health service over Christmas and the New Year,” said Paul McKinney Director of Donor Services and Logistics.
“This is even more relevant for those donors with O-, B-, and A- blood for which we continue to see very high demand from the hospitals.
“On any given day 200 patients receive transfusions in Irish hospitals, and the demand for blood, even over Christmas, is constant. We rely on our donors and are urging them to give a priceless gift this Christmas, the gift of life,” said Mr McKinney.
If you receive a text to make an appointment please do so and make sure you do the eligibility test on www.giveblood.ie before you do to make sure you can give blood on this occasion, he added.
He urged those who do make an appointment to try and keep it as IBTS are having large amounts of no shows and cancellations at short notice.
“We would also like to thank donors for their incredible support in what has been a very challenging year for everybody and we hope they continue that support into 2023.” Further clinic information can be found on www.giveblood.ie.