About Blood
The frequency of blood groups in Ireland is as follows:
| O Positive | 47% | O Negative | 8% | A Positive | 28% | A Negative | 5% |
| B Positive | 9% | B Negative | 2% | AB Positive | 2% | AB Negative | 1% |
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.
Read more about this topic: Irish Blood Transfusion Service
Famous quotes containing the word blood:
“O, the blood more stirs
To rouse a lion than to start a hare!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Communism, my friend, is more than Marxism, just as Catholicism ... is more than the Roman Curia. There is a mystique as well as a politique.... Catholics and Communists have committed great crimes, but at least they have not stood aside, like an established society, and been indifferent. I would rather have blood on my hands than water like Pilate.”
—Graham Greene (1904–1991)