The Sigla Blog

A couple of weeks back, the IBTS appealed for blood donations after an unprecented shortage. So bad was the dearth of blood available, that the D’Olier Street clinic opened on a Sunday from 11-4pm. My younger brother planned to go along to donate and a couple of days later my older brother and his girlfriend went along to donate. For the former, it was frustrating given the fact that the clinic was only open for five hours. Media coverage of the shortage had swelled visitors to the clinic which couldn’t cope with the numbers that showed up, so he postponed it and is going tonight. The older brother and girlfriend both gave up their lunch break to donate only to be told that a recent trip to Bali prohibited them from donating.

With blood scandals and the subsequent Lindsay Tribunal (which looked at the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products), people have been put off donating blood out of fear and out of a distrust of the IBTS’ safety record. What the tribunal concluded in its report was that many changes in procedure and safety standards were needed and Judge Lindsay decided that this was already in place, albeit after 78 infected haemophiliacs had died since the 1970s. The tribunal was widely criticised by families and victims because it failed to recommend an inquiry into the role of international drug companies in providing plasma and blood products that led to the infection. Since those decades, things have changed vastly and strict screening procedures have been tightened, hence the strictness about donors who have travelled abroad, gotten tattoos or even snorted cocaine with a rolled up note.

Blood donation relies on total altruism; people do it because they want to do something to help others. My family do it because of the amount of blood and platelet transfusions I received during chemotherapy for leukemia two and a half years ago. Everyone knows about blood donation but very few people know that donating platelets is even more crucial. Why? Because there are currently only about 1200 donors for the whole country with just two platelet clinics for all of Ireland. While blood has a shelf life of 35 days, platelets survive for just five days. When I was in hospital, I was repeatedly told that platelet donation levels were always critically low. On a busy bank holiday weekend, one doctor told me the clinic was down to just five or six pools of platelets. Another time, a donor had to be called to come in and donate for me when I needed platelets.

So I made a deal. If I made it through the leukemia, I would badger every soul I knew about donating blood and platelets. It worked, and a lot of my friends rolled up their sleeves and donated. On one occasion, a mobile clinic made it to RTE and a few friends donated. One in particular asked about platelet donation and a nearby platelet representative’s ears pricked up she was over immediately asking how my friend knew about them. After telling them about me and my mission, the IBTS got in touch and asked if I’d liked to speak about my experiences to try and raise awareness of platelet donation. I felt I had to give something back, so I spoke about it on the radio, television and in newspapers as well as at a dinner for 500 blood donors (ideal platelet donors) for two reasons: firstly because the directive ‘Give Blood’ is self-explanatory, whereas a tv or radio ad can’t get across what platelets are in 30 seconds. Secondly, one of the best ways to tell people about platelets, and their importance, in the hope they’ll consider donating, is to show them a survivor. It gave me a chance to tell lots of people who do this year in year out that what they do saves lives like mine.

There is a little more commitment involved in donating platelets because donors are encouraged to donated regularly (you can donate more frequently than blood, generally one month for men, six weeks for women). Most people receiving cancer treatment require a lot of blood and platelets, as do many newborn babies. Whole blood is also needed for both and for accident victims and post-surgery patients.

Whether you’re fearful of needles or too busy, it’s still something that not enough people do. So stop by the IBTS and find out if you’re eligible to donate. If that’s not motivation enough, I think you they still give you a pint of Guinness.