IBTS launches 2015 Annual Report
Almost 80,000 donors gave over 132,000 units of blood in 2015
The IBTS today (Monday) launched its 2015 Annual Report. IBTS Chief Executive Andy Kelly said that in 2015 the IBTS continued to deliver blood transfusion to the highest standards despite the many challenges the organisation faced. "We successfully implemented our new blood banking system eProgesa. We also centralised blood components processing in Dublin and we will retain a hot site contingency in our Centre in Cork. In late October we discovered a problem with our Hb measurement technology which has serious consequences for donors and the sustainability of the blood supply. It will require a significant effort to mitigate the impact of the increase in Hb deferrals so that we can maintain a consistent blood supply.
"We continue to operate in a very constrained financial environment and there is a requirement for us to effect further savings. For the first time in a number of years there was an increase in the use of blood and platelets. However the usage is 13% and 10% lower than 2009 for red cells and platelets respectively.
"The challenge that declining revenue and increasing costs poses for the IBTS is how to remain current with developing technologies and to have sufficient capital to invest in equipment, technology and people. We need to agree an appropriate funding model that will fund the activities of the IBTS into the future, ensuring that we can remain current with scientific and technological advances.
"We continue to work with key stakeholders in Cork to build a Centre for Transfusion Medicine on the campus of Cork University Hospital. This will change significantly how the IBTS operates in Cork," said Andy Kelly.
IBTS Medical & Scientific Director Dr William Murphy said that the identification of Hepatitis E acquired in Ireland from food required a different approach to deferring people at risk and funding was obtained to test every donor for the virus for 3 years starting in January 2016. "In this we are the first country to decide on universal donor testing, a measure of Ireland's commitment to providing as safe a blood supply as we can achieve.
"The IBTS completed the development phases of its Limbal Stem Cell Programme, a major new direction in developing in-house expertise in stem cell therapy. Limbal stem cell transplants restore vision to patients with specific types of diseases of the front of the eye who cannot repair their own corneas after disease or injury. These patients need corneal stem cells to be harvested from tissue donors and cultured in the laboratory for 2 to 3 weeks before transplant. It's a very demanding process in many ways and achieving this competence puts the IBTS in a a pivotal position to support the future development of stem cell therapies in many other areas of medicine in Ireland in the future.
"2015 also saw the initiation of blood group genotyping at the IBTS - initially to guide the use of antenatal prophylaxis with anti-D in the prevention of residual cases of Rhesus Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn. This technology - determining the blood types of patients and donors by genetic methods rather than the current standard methods using antibody techniques will revolutionize much of blood banking in time, leading to better, quicker and perhaps even cheaper provision of blood transfusions in hospitals," said Dr Murphy.
ENDS
Note to Editors
Only 3% of the eligible population are active donors
One in 4 of us will need transfusions at some stage of our lives
Blood lasts just 35 days
Platelets, a component of blood last just 5 to 7 days.
