IBTS 2000 Annual Report Launched
The CEO of the IBTS, Martin Hynes announced today, 29/11/01, that 174,738 people attended blood donor clinics in 2000 of which 17% were deemed ineligible to donate due to the strict donor selection criteria enforced by the IBTS. "Often donors are deferred for quite regular reasons, perhaps because they receive acupuncture or had a recent body piercing. However, we always err on the side of caution when selecting donors and therefore have to defer, for a year, donors who fall into this category." In the same year 1,224 people applied to join the Bone Marrow Registry and 56 corneas and 57 heart valves were issued for transplant.
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service came through a period of enormous change in the past year, "We moved from Pelican House to our new pharmaceutical grade facility at the National Blood Centre; opened up a Blood Donor Clinic in DOlier St. in Dublin and opened up a regional base in Carlow employing 24 people". Mr. Hynes outlined the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) framework to which the IBTS now operates including the stringent internal quality assurance systems at all IBTS centres.
The IBTS also marked its 50th anniversary in 2000. Mr. Hynes acknowledged that while not all events of the past 50 years gave cause for celebration, he called on the public not to judge the Blood Transfusion Service on its past but to assess the service on the changing environment in which it now operates and the standards to which it now adheres. "There is no point in having a state of the art blood service and an operating haemovigilance system if there is no blood available for patients in hospitals today because people do not have confidence in our systems". He invited the general public to recognise the significant role they play in the transfusion chain. "The IBTS and hospitals rely on the public to come forward to donate."
The IBTS called on people to make a special effort to give blood in the run up to Christmas when stocks traditionally dip. Details of upcoming donor clinics are available by calling 1850 731 137 or by checking the Forthcoming Clinics section of the IBTS website.
