Members of the public who are eligible to donate blood are being urged to do so during the holiday period, as blood supplies are often difficult to maintain at this time of the year.

Over 1,000 people require blood transfusions every week in Ireland, however, just 3% of the population currently gives blood.

A person can donate blood every 90 days and the most common blood group in Ireland is O positive (47% of the population). The rarest blood group here is AB negative (1% of the population).

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) has said that it is concerned that without more donations, blood supplies will be difficult to maintain over the coming weeks.

It said that around 10,000 blood donations are needed to keep up supplies over the holiday period. However, it emphasised that Christmas is traditionally a tough time for IBTS to maintain blood supplies to hospitals.

It is appealing to people to donate over the Christmas and New Year period. While some clinics will be closed due to holidays, such as Christmas Day and New Year's Day, additional clinics are being held nationwide over the coming weeks.

Clinic details can be viewed here