'The kindness of strangers': Blood donors needed in Limerick

AS WELL as being enjoyable at times, life can also be cruel - and unexpected, with surprises around every corner, good and bad.

And at no time is the mind sharpened more than perhaps when one faces physical illness.

For those who are unfortunate enough to come up against life-threatening diseases, the kindness of strangers is ever so important.

There’s a quiet army of these strangers who give blood every three months, with their donation helping cancer patients, mothers who have given birth, people needing major surgery and so many more people.

But this small force really needs some backup, with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, which administers donations across the State, warning last month its reserves were “critically low”.

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Registered nurse Margaret Keane said: “Only three percent of Irish people donate. One in four of us will need some sort of a transfusion at some stage in our lives. It’s so important you make a habit of this. A lot of the time if you ask our donors how they got into donating, usually their Mum or Dad donated. It’s only when someone in their families need a donation when they realise the value and importance of it.”

Margaret is one of the team of nurses who run regular blood donation clinics across Limerick.

In the next few weeks, there are clinics being held in Kilmallock, Newcastle West, Caherconlish and Castletroy.

It was the clinic in the final destination that the Leader paid a visit to, at the Castletroy Park Hotel.

One of the hotel’s ballrooms was transformed into a fully functioning donation facility - with a waiting area and registration desk, beds where the blood is taken and even featuring the complimentary tea and biscuits to give patients a boost after the process.

Many of us will admit to having a fear of syringes, but staff at the clinic - led by nurses with support from donor attendants - make a special effort to ensure those who come in are as at ease as possible.

“We’ll tell you when to look away,” said another nurse, Aideen McGrath.

“It should be pain free. You should be aware the needle is in your arm, but it should not be uncomfortable. If it is, we will take it out immediately. If you begin to get light-headed when the donation starts, we will stop it immediately,” she added.

A doctor is on call for all queries and emergencies.

Ahead of making a blood donation, people are encouraged to have plenty to eat and drink - and even avoid exercise!

“We are taking 470mls (one pint) of blood from you. So for your safety, it’s important you have plenty to eat and plenty of hydration. The more hydrated you are, the better you'll feel afterwards, the better your veins come up, and you’re less likely to have a faint and become light-headed,” Aideen explained.

When giving blood, four tests are taken and tested to ensure it is suitable to be used in others.

Then the donation process begins.

“If you’re well-hydrated, you have a good vein, it usually takes eight to 10 minutes. But it can’t go on longer than 15 minutes, the machine shuts down,” nurse Aideen said.

It is demand from hospitals that's putting pressure on the Irish Blood Transfusion Service - and it is at its most acute when there are extreme events, like, for example, January’s Storm Eowyn.

Ross Anderson, pictured above, from Carrigoreilly near Caherconlish is a regular visitor to the Castletroy Park Hotel to make a blood donation.

“It’s something I can do. I can help others through something which does not have any impact on me apart from a half an hour of my day. We have had family members who have required blood in the past so it’s nice to be able to give something back. My parents were always donors. My sister was a donor back in the UK as long as I can remember,” Ross, who was born in Scotland, said.

Also likely to be spotted at the Castletroy Park Hotel’s blood clinic every quarter is local businessman and councillor Peter Doyle, photographed below.

“They even take blue blood,” he laughs, in reference to his role as both a Fine Gael representative and a supporter of an English soccer club which plays in blue, Chelsea FC.

Cllr Doyle has been making donations going back to when he was a student and working on a co-operative placement at computer manufacturer Wang in Plassey.

“I think it’s a noble thing to do. That at no cost you can help people. I intend on giving for as long as I can,” he said.

“For 99% of people who are reasonably healthy and fit, it’s a fantastic thing to do. It financially costs you nothing. I’d say it takes an hour - and if you give two hours of your time every year, you’d be giving two pints which might help someone in a really difficult situation,” the City East councillor added.

He recalls as a young man meeting - and being inspired by - Willie ‘Whacker’ Gleeson.

“He used to have a silver or gold pelican on his lapel for giving 50 pints of blood. I was inspired by him, and the habit of doing it,” Cllr Doyle recalled.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service are always on the look out for new donors.

For more information, please visit www.giveblood.ie or call 1800-731137.