Blood transfusion centre granted rebuild

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is to proceed with plans to rebuild in the city centre.

The new development of the Munster Region Transfusion Centre (MRTC) will replace the existing buildings on the grounds of St Finbarr’s Hospital in Ballinlough.

The IBTS has also confirmed that the new build will retain all existing service provision including reference RCI services.

The go-ahead for the development was given last week by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD.

Prior to the announcement, the IBTS Board had considered a report prepared by external consultants which examined 2 options for progressing the redevelopment.

Extensive consultation with various stakeholders in the Munster region was carried out as part of that process which showed strong support for the development of a new centre with all existing services being retained.

The proposal has now been approved by the Department of Health to progress to the next stage.

The IBTS will prepare a development brief and will work with its HSE colleagues in St Finbarr’s Hospital campus, to progress this long-standing issue.