THE IRISH BLOOD Transfusion Service (IBTS) have issued an appeal for more regular donors, with concerns around a lack of blood supply over the Christmas period.

In particular, the group is seeking regular donors with the O-, A- and B- blood types.

The IBTS website shows that there is currently only two days worth of O- blood, four days worth of A- blood and three days of B- blood.

According to the IBTS, a recent request for more donations has not yielded enough donations to sustain blood supplies over Christmas, due to high levels of Covid-19 in the community causing cancellations.

“High levels of COVID-19 in the population is impacting on donor availability, resulting in high numbers of cancellations and the IBTS is urgently asking healthy donors to respond to when they receive a text from us,” said Barry Doyle, Acting Operations Director.

“A pre-amber alert has been issued in line with the national blood shortage plan, which requests conservative use of blood, and donations are needed to avoid the cancellation of elective surgeries requiring blood support.

“We are asking our regular donors to book an appointment when they receive a text from us, especially the O-, A- and B- donors.”

The IBTS have said that there are extra clinics being arranged for the Christmas and New Year period. These include clinics on 19 December, 24 December, 28 December, 31 December and 3 January.

Donations to the IBTS are scheduled over the phone, with all donors being pre-screened before an appointment is made to ensure the safety of other donors and staff.

Further information on how to donate can be found at www.giveblood.ie.