The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has launched its #MissingType campaign for August to encourage blood donations.
Numerous organisations and companies across Ireland are dropping AB & O from their logos to support the IBTS in highlighting what it is like when these types are missing.
These include Irish Rail, Daft.ie, Dublin City Council, Lidl, Glanbia, Carzone, Dublin Fire Brigade and Failte Ireland. The Rose of Tralee International Festival and its lead sponsor, Tipperary Crystal are also supporting the campaign.
You might not need all your A’s B’s & O’s, but life for others can be impossible without them #Giveblood, save lives, support #MissingType pic.twitter.com/sdx6sxks9R
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) August 14, 2017
You might not need all your A’s B’s & O’s, but life for others can be impossible without them #Giveblood, save lives, support #MissingType pic.twitter.com/R3PDsSLDPX
— Daft.ie (@daftmedia) August 14, 2017
Our paramedics see the need for blood every day... It's the greatest gift you can give. Support #MissingType... Give Blood @Giveblood_ie pic.twitter.com/oX7eqY5Bur
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 14, 2017
Speaking about the initiative, Paul McKinney, IBTS Operations Director said:
“People rarely think about whether their blood type is A,B or O – many of us don’t even know our own blood type. But if that ‘type’ was to go missing in everyday life, people would start to pay closer attention to the need for blood. Patients are not concerned about their type but do worry whether blood will be there for them when they need it."
“Between 2010 and 2015 the number of new donors attending has dropped by 21% Last year the average age of a donor was 41.4 years old and in 2010 it was 38.9. In 2010 the number of donors who gave blood aged 18-35 was 40,643. In 2016 it was 29,697 which is a fall of 27%. We need to address this reduction and attract more, younger donors to ensure sufficiency of supply. The #MissingType initiative is part of the IBTS campaign to recruit an additional 5,000 new donors before the end of the year” Paul added.
People are being asked to share a social media post with their name or a message missing any A,B or Os using the #MissingType and #Giveblood hashtags to spread the message for more donors. Visit www.giveblood.ie to find a local clinic.
