The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) are on campus this week from Monday to Thursday to accept donations of blood from UCD students. The thankfully voluntary service is located in the Astra Hall in the old Student Centre and is open from 11:00am to 14:30pm.
Students considering attending the clinic are asked to check their eligibility by visiting giveblood.ie as the annual campus blood drive is highly popular and often sees queues due to demand. Those eligible to donate should allocate between one and one and a half hours to allow for paperwork and the donation process to take place.
With approximately 1,000 blood transfusions taking place in Ireland every week, demand for fresh supplies is constant. Healthy adults are able to donate blood every three months at any of the IBTS’ clinics around the country. At present, supplies of O+, O- and B- are particularly low and students who share this blood type are asked to make a particular effort to attend.
If you’re unable to attend the clinic at UCD, the IBTS also have a permanent clinic in Stillorgan which is open Tuesday-Thursday all year round.
