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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Jun 1945

Vol. 97 No. 12

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Blood Donation.

asked the Minister for Defence if he will state what steps have been taken to solicit donors for the donation of blood to the National Blood Donation Centre, 115 Grafton Street, Dublin; what publicity has been given; the amount of money made available for such publicity, and the amount spent to date; and if he will state further (a) the number of prospective donors; (b) the number of donors from whom blood has been taken; (c) the total amount of blood taken; (d) how this blood is used; (e) how this blood is stored, and (f) to what extent the demand from Irish hospitals is being met from this blood.

The information required by the Deputy is in the form of a statement which is being published in the Official Reports.

Following is the statement:—

Steps taken to solicit donors:—30,000 leaflets relating to the work of the National Blood Donation Centre have been or are being distributed among adult members of the Dublin public through large employers of labour and the donation centre.

Publicity is being effected by means of posters displayed at the donation centre. Over a period of six weeks posters advertising the work of the National Blood Donation Centre were displayed in all buses and trams operating in Dublin. Advertising agencies have been requested to consider the inclusion free of charge of a small panel, advertising the centre, in Press advertisements issued by their clients. One Dublin commercial firm has donated space in the Dublin Press to advertise the centre. An advertising campaign is being inaugurated in the Dublin Press. In addition, slides have been shown in a Dublin cinema. Badges of a distinctive design are given to donors to indicate that the wearers have donated their blood to the centre.

The amount of money made available for publicity is £1,000. The expenditure incurred to the 31st May, 1945, is £201 10s. 0d. (a) Number of prospective donors—The number of persons who have offered to donate blood since the opening of the centre is 2,088 and the number of prospective donors at present is 16. (b) The number of donors from whom blood has been taken—685 (as at 14th June, 1945). (c) Total amount of blood taken—490 pints (as at 14th June, 1945). (d) How this blood is used—This blood is used to prepare sterile human serum for transfusion purposes. (e) How this blood is stored—This blood is not stored as such, but it is processed to agglutinin-free serum. This serum is kept in pint bottle containers and stored at a low even temperature away from sunlight. (f) To what extent the demand from Irish hospitals is being met from this blood—Up to the 31st May, 1945, the Serum Production Department, St. Bricin's General Military Hospital, Dublin, processing the blood donated at the National Blood Donation Centre, has been able to meet all the demands made on it by the Dublin hospitals, but only because they used this serum for transfusion purposes as an emergency measure and when whole-blood transfusion is either not immediately available or is contra-indicated.

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