Irish Blood Transfusion Service Service. The frequency of blood groups in Ireland is as follows: It is important that the IBTS collects enough O Rh D positive blood as almost half the population are that blood type. Donors with O Rh D negative are known as universal donors. Their blood can be transfused to patients of any other blood group in an emergency or if the patient's own blood group is unavailable. Because any patient can receive O Rh D negative blood, the IBTS need to have extra O Rh D negative blood available at all times. The service depends entirely on voluntary donations
Blood donation the blood that takes the longest to replace. Using this method an individual can donate plasma or platelets much more frequently than they can safely donate whole blood. These can be combined, with a donor giving both plasma and platelets in the same donation. Platelets can also be separated from whole blood, but they must be pooled from multiple donations. From three to ten units of whole blood are required for a therapeutic dose. Plateletpheresis provides at least one full dose from each donation. Plasmapheresis is frequently used to collect source plasma that is used for manufacturing into medications much