Stillorgan Blood Donation Clinic officially opened by President of Ireland today, Tuesday

President Mary McAleese officially opened the Stillorgan Blood Donation Clinic today (Tuesday).  The President met donors and staff before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the opening at the Clinic.

Welcoming the President, IBTS Chairman Maura McGrath said “the IBTS continuously strives to provide a better service to its donors and given the ever increasing demands on people’s time we have decided to meet that challenge by providing an appointment driven service at this clinic.  This will reduce significantly the amount of time donors spend in the clinic from registration to post donation refreshments.  This is a new departure for the IBTS and I believe it will be a great success.

“Every week over 1,000 people need a blood transfusion in Ireland and all of us have at least a one in four chance of needing a blood transfusion at some point in our lives.  We must continue to develop our services so that we are responsive to donors, without whom there would be no blood transfusion service.  Donors in South Dublin now have an opportunity to donate at a time convenient to them, at a place convenient to them,” said Ms McGrath.

Thanking President McAleese, Acting Chief Executive Andy Kelly said: “while we are acutely aware that blood is a precious resource and while there has been many technological advances in medicine, one thing has not changed, and will not change for the foreseeable future and that is our reliance on the volunteer donor as the cornerstone of the system.”