Written answers

Wednesday, 26 January 2022

Department of Health

Irish Blood Transfusion Service

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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164. To ask the Minister for Health the amount of blood which was imported in 2021 to support the Blood Transfusion Service; the states from which the supplies were procured; the manner in which the availability of these supplies was identified; the controls in place to ensure safety standards conformed to Irish standards; the body responsible for inspecting the quality of blood; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3714/22]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) are the statutory body with the responsibility for the supply of blood and blood products in Ireland. In 2021 the IBTS imported blood from the UK's National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on two occasions. In response to this question, the IBTS advised of the following:

"The IBTS has had a long standing contingency agreement with the NHSBT to supply blood in times of acute shortage. As outlined in the IBTS business continuity plan, the point of contact is the supply chain manager in NHSBT.There is a similar arrangement in place with the SNBTS for contingency testing of donor samples should there be a failure in testing at the NBC. The UK blood services are still compliant with the European Commission Directives that regulate blood as we are in Ireland. There is a difference in the donor criteria applied to MSM, however the IBTS has made the decision to introduce individual assessment using the same processes as the UK in selecting donors. The IBTS has a robust quality system in place that ensures that the quality of the blood is compliant with EU standards. The IBTS is regulated and inspected regularly by the HPRA.

In 2021, the following rare blood units were imported:

- 1 unit of rare blood from England

- 2 units of rare blood from Sweden

- 1 unit of rare blood from Spain

These are sourced through the International Rare Donor Panel in the UK.

525 units of blood were imported from the NHSBT for general stock (115 in July, 410 in December)"

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