Irish Blood Transfusion Service
Encyclopedia
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, was established in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
as the Blood Transfusion Service Board (BTSB) by the Blood Transfusion Service Board (Establishment) Order, 1965, it took its current name in April 2000 by Statutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
issued by the Minister for Heath and Children
Minister for Health and Children (Ireland)
The Minister for Health is the senior minister at the Department of Health in the Government of Ireland and is responsible for health care in the Republic of Ireland and related services.The current Minister for Health is James Reilly, TD...
to whom it is responsible. The primary responsibly of the service is the provision of blood and blood products for humans.
History
The service is the successor to the National Blood Transfusion Association which was established in 1948 and was, itself, born from the work carried out by the St. John Ambulance Brigade of IrelandSt. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland
The St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland is a charitable voluntary organisation in the Republic of Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of the Venerable Order of Saint John and the international St. John Ambulance movement, but rather is classed as an...
in setting up an 'on call' blood donor panel to serve hospitals in the Dublin area. In 1975 the Cork Blood Transfusion Service was amalgamated with the board, and in 1991 the Limerick Blood Transfusion Service was amalgamated with the board.
The symbol of the service is a stylised pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
, and for most of its existence the headquarters of the service was located at Pelican House (first in Lower Leeson Street
Leeson Street
Leeson Street is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland.Originally known as Suesey Street, it was renamed in 1728 after the Leesons, a family of local brewers, who branched into property development and subsequently became Earls of Milltown....
and then Mespil Road), Dublin. In 2000 the service relocated to the state-of-the-art National Blood Centre on the grounds of St. James's Hospital
St. James's Hospital
St. James's Hospital , also known as SJH, is the largest university teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is the University of Dublin...
near Dublin Heuston railway station
Dublin Heuston railway station
Dublin Heuston , commonly called Heuston Station , is one of Ireland's main railway stations, serving the south, southwest and west. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann , the national railway operator...
, on which it remains. The service maintains regional facilities at Ardee
Ardee
Ardee is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. Ardee is on the banks of the River Dee and is approximately 20 km from Dundalk, Drogheda, Slane and Carrickmacross...
, Carlow
Carlow
Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
and Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
.
The Compensation Tribunal
Between 1977 and 1994 a number of people were infected with Hepatitis C unknowingly, and clear evidence on this did not become available until the mid 1990s. Most of the people who received this blood were women. The Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal was established by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997, and amended by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal (Amendment) Act, 2002, to compensate people who contracted Hepatitis C or HIV as a result of receiving blood or blood products from the service.About blood
The frequency of blood groups in Ireland is as follows:| O Positive | 47% | O Negative | 8% | A Positive | 28% | A Negative | 5% |
| B Positive | 9% | B Negative | 2 % | AB Positive | 2% | AB Negative | 1% |
It is important that the IBTS collects enough O Rh D positive blood as almost half the population are that blood type. Donors with O Rh D negative are known as universal donors. Their blood can be transfused to patients of any other blood group in an emergency or if the patient's own blood group is unavailable. Because any patient can receive O Rh D negative blood, the IBTS need to have extra O Rh D negative blood available at all times.
Eligibility to donate
New donors must be aged between 18 and 60, over 50 kilograms (7 stone 12 lbs) and in good health.At every donation iron levels are checked and donors complete a health and lifestyle questionnaire.
Donors can give blood every 90 days.
The IBTS imposes a number of restrictions on those who can give blood. These are in line with those of the European Union, World Health Organisation and the Irish Medicines Board and are similar to other countries. These restrictions are in place to ensure that all blood products are safe for recipients. A 4 month restriction is placed on donors who have had piercings or tattoos, had acupuncture and a 6 month restriction if you have visited a tropical area. There is a year long deferral for those who have visited a malarial area. Donors who have travelled to the USA or Canada have to wait for 4 weeks before donating due to the West Nile Virus. Certain medications or conditions can also exclude people from donation.
Additionally, there are groups of people who are permanently barred from donating blood based on their membership in high-risk groups. This list includes all people who have lived for a year or more in the United Kingdom between the years 1980–1996 are excluded from donating due to the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). vCJD has a long incubation period and there is no laboratory test which can detect the disease. Also permanently barred are all people who have ever been injected with any kind of non-prescription drug, and all people who have ever been paid for sex with money or drugs.
Gay blood ban
Controversially, any man who has ever had sexual contact with another manMen who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual...
is barred for life from donating blood. The IBTS acknowledges that this policy causes "considerable offence" and is "clearly discriminatory" against gay men but claims that it preserves the safety of the blood supply. Several campaigns have been launched in an effort to reverse the ban. Gay Doctors Ireland
Gay Doctors Ireland
Gay Doctors Ireland is an organisation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender physicians and medical students in Ireland. It was founded in 2010 as Ireland's first association for LGBT doctors.-Purpose:...
denounced the ban as "unscientific" and outdated.
Donor Awards
Donors are recognised for their commitment by being awarded as follows:A silver award for 10 donations.
A gold award for 20 donations.
A gold drop for 50 donations and presentation at an awards dinner ceremony.
A porcelain pelican for 100 donations and presentation at an awards dinner ceremony.
Platelets and Bone Marrow
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is also responsible for the collection of platelets and for managingthe Unrelated Bone Marrow registry in Ireland.
Donors can give platelets in the National Blood Centre, James Street, Dublin 8 or in St. Finbarrs Hospital, Cork.
Donors can join the unrelated bone marrow registry through their local blood clinic by offering an extra blood sample and
satisfying suitability criteria.