The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is considering contingency arrangements with European Union (EU) countries for the importation of blood if required.
In 2015, the IBTS signed a contract with NHS Blood and Transplant for the contingency provision of blood. Since 2020, this arrangement has been activated “on numerous occasions”. The IBTS is considering additional contingency arrangements with blood services in the EU amid ongoing pressure on the blood supply (RhD negative blood groups). The IBTS takes a number of blood shortage mitigation steps before issuing national donor appeals and, if required, importing blood.
An IBTS spokesperson told the Medical Independent (MI): “Optimising blood utilisation across jurisdictions is now routine practice and the European Blood Association, of which the IBTS is a founding member, has recommended blood services are encouraged to have collaborative and contingency arrangements in place.”
The new EU regulation on substances of human origin, which will apply from August 2027, also involves “harmonisation” with other member states through the sharing of resources.
“Any blood collected within Europe which meets the standards outlined in the EDQM [European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare] Blood Guide and EU Directive 2002/98/EC would be suitable for importation and use in Ireland subject to appropriate risk assessment and arrangement,” the spokesperson commented. “We have initiated contact with and commenced a risk assessment for importation from several other blood services in Europe; however, no formal agreements are currently in place.”
In early September, the IBTS informed MI the overall blood supply remained “stable”, but meeting the demand for RhD negative blood groups had proven “challenging”.
“Ireland has seen an increase in demand for RhD negative red cells from 2019 to 2024, which has not been mirrored across Europe and issues are now at their highest for 10 years.
“The increased patient demand is driven mainly by the expansion of haemato-oncology and haemoglobinopathy services.” See news feature.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.