Minister Donnelly welcomes IBTS annual report and thanks those who save lives by donating blood
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 21 September 2022
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has welcomed the publication of the Annual Report of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) for 2021.
The report highlights the work of the IBTS in maintaining the blood supply to hospitals despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. There were 127,614 successful donations reported for the year from almost 73,000 individual donors.
Minister Donnelly said:
"This report again highlights the impact that COVID-19 had across the entire health system. I would like to pay tribute to all the staff of IBTS who rose to the challenge to make sure clinics ran smoothly and safely and that the blood supply to our hospitals was secured in such exceptional circumstances. Of course, I also want to say a sincere thank you to each and every person who gave blood. It is a truly selfless act, an act of solidarity with the wider community and an act that saves lives."
Every year about 1% of the population needs a blood transfusion and one in four of us will require blood at some point in our lives. Patients in hospitals all around the country are helped in their recovery by the ready availability of blood on a weekly basis, and the IBTS needs around 3,000 donations every week to continue to meet demand.
Minister Donnelly also noted:
"The report highlights the innovative measures that the IBTS is taking to encourage donation. This includes the option of an online portal to complete forms and changes in clinics to make the donation process quicker. These efforts helped ensure donor attendance in 2021 with attendances up almost 2% despite the disruption caused by COVID. Nonetheless, we can of course always do better, and I would urge all blood donors, and those who would like to be blood donors, to visit their nearest clinic and to give blood."
For further information on donor eligibility and the clinic venues nationwide, please visit the Irish Blood Transfusion Service website.