Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)

It is my first time speaking to the Minister of State and I am delighted. I thank her for coming in to discuss the critical issue of blood donations.

Last week the Irish Blood Transfusion Service said it needed an extra 12,000 blood donations as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock. Without the selfless act of a person donating blood, the Irish health system will come to a halt. As the Minister of State knows, blood only last 35 days and supply is almost always dynamic. It became so critical last week that the Irish Blood Transfusion Service almost went into amber alert. That would mean that elective surgeries would not continue. I spoke to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and, after last week's appeal, up to yesterday afternoon, it had 5.8 days' supply, but it aims to hold seven days. What it really needs is more new donors. Only 3% of the population donate blood, which I could not believe when I actually looked at the statistic. A total of 8% of those donors are O negative. The service needs younger, repeat donors, donors of African heritage and other ethnicities to ensure the national blood supply remains safe and sustainable. With all of this in mind, now is the time to appeal to younger donors, ensure there are clinics in every county, educate people on the importance of donation and perhaps allow employees time off to donate blood.

The average donor age in Ireland is age 46 years even though we can give blood from the age of 18. The maximum age is 65, but as we are all living longer lives, should this not be extended? When I did some research on this last week and, in fact, this morning, I saw that, although supplies were critical, we had no blood transfusion clinics in ten counties last week nor are there any in those counties for the last two weeks of October. When I had another look today, 15 counties out of 26 have no blood donation clinic for the last 11 days of October, including my own county of Meath. We are at a critical juncture and, in fact, five counties, among them Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim and Laois, have no clinics planned for November either. Are we investing enough or is it a manpower issue preventing us from running more clinics?

Similarly, education is key. Why are there not more donors? Why are we in a critical time? How can we reach underrepresented communities? We need to ensure materials are available in every language and that we appeal to religious groups and immigrant support centres. We need to educate people on the importance of blood donation and what they can do for their communities.

Blood is used in more than 70 hospitals across Ireland. Every week hundreds of patients in Ireland rely on blood transfusions for surgeries, cancer treatment and emergency care. Blood is also needed for women who have with complications while giving birth. The IBTS needs around 3,000 donations every week just to meet the demand in hospitals across the country.

I urge employers to perhaps allow employees time off to donate blood. They would need only two hours per year. The average time it takes to donate blood is only two hours. As I said, blood is used in 70 hospitals across Ireland. Every week hundreds of patients in Ireland rely on it. It is estimated that one in four people will require a blood transfusion at some stage in their lives, with 67% of all blood used to help support cancer patients. Every single day in Ireland, somebody’s life depends on the generosity of a blood donor.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has said it would welcome the Department of Health’s support in continuing to promote blood donation awareness and in every way that enables it to meet its objectives.What can the Department do to help the Irish Blood Transfusion Service? Have we increased our investment in it? Can we increase our investment in how the message of the urgency of blood donation is communicated?