Citing an "acute shortage of blood," the Irish Blood Transfusion Service last week wrote to hospitals to advise them to postpone elective surgery. The situation was returning to normal this week after a widespread public response to appeals for donations, but at the time of the advisory notice there were shortages of as much as half the required amount in some cases in seven of the eight blood categories.
Worst hit were acute care hospitals in Dublin. Some blood transfusions for children were also cancelled, said haematologist Owen Smith from St James's and Tallaght hospitals, and a vascular surgeon at Dublin's Beaumont hospital said that shortages over the holiday period had become so acute that in some cases patients received only the most compatible blood product available. The blood shortage was described as partly seasonal.
Overall, the service said that the number of donors last year recovered somewhat, to match those of 1996. Last year attendances at blood clinics reached 181 684, but the pool of available people is getting smaller owing to screening. A recent clinic could take blood from only 109 of the 152 who offered donations.
According to the service's figures, just over 20% of people offering blood last year were turned away. According to heart surgeon Maurice Neligan, the problem of shortages also appeared to be worsening because people seemed to be "less altruistic than in the past."
Another problem is emerging. The cost of advertising to persuade people to give blood and the increasing cost of blood collection are contributing to a substantial rise in the price charged to hospitals for blood and blood products. Ireland's Department of Health last month sanctioned a rise in charges that now sees the price of a bag of blood up by 46%, to €223.07 (£137.40; $199.32).
Up to now, the service said, it had not been charging the full, economic price for blood supplies. People in the past were more willing to give, said a spokeswoman, and the blood service had also benefited from the donation of collection space in school halls and similar centres. The service is now having to rent space in many areas, she said.
The service also supplies corneas for transplant, importing them from Colorado in the United States. The price charged for corneas has gone up by 39%, to €285.53.
The service is calling for tenders for its advertising for the next two and a half years. It said that market research indicates shows that the public likes to be reminded through advertising to donate. When asked what would encourage them to give blood, 24% of respondents said TV advertising—the second highest response. The main motivator, at 29%, was if friends or relatives needed blood.
Advertising for blood donors in 2000 has worked well in other places. A campaign run by the Canadian Blood Services in 2000 helped to increase blood donations by 11%.
