The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is calling on people to donate blood during the summer months - warning it can be a 'challenging' time for donations.

The IBTS says it needs 15,000 donors a month to maintain seven days of blood supply at all times.

However, they are currently under that supply for O positive, O negative, A positive and B negative blood types.

Image: IBTS

IBTS Operating Director Paul McKinney says holidays and major events such as the World Cup can pose difficulties when it comes to donations.

He observed: "The summer months are always a challenging time for blood donation - children are on holidays or doing exams, the evenings are long and fine, or there are other distractions such as the World Cup.

“Throughout the summer, people are travelling abroad on holidays so we are asking them to give blood before they go."