Irish Blood Transfusion Service

For most of its existence, the headquarters of the service was located at Pelican House (first in Lower Leeson Street and then Mespil Road) in Dublin.

In 2000 the service moved to the National Blood Centre on the grounds of St. James's Hospital near Dublin Heuston railway station, on which it remains.

In 1994, the BTSB informed the Minister for Health that a batch of "Anti-D" blood product they had distributed in 1977 for the treatment of pregnant mothers had been contaminated with the Hepatitis C virus.

At every donation haemoglobin levels are checked and donors complete a detailed health and lifestyle questionnaire.

This policy came into effect from 28 March 2022 and came under heavy criticism from politicians, such as the Labour Party's Senator Annie Hoey and Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan,[5] as well as the public[6] due to a perceived lack of scientific basis for the policy and the lack of information on the reason for the rule.

[7] The IBTS has also been criticised for rolling back on the recommendation formally adopted by its Board in September 2021 to remove oral sex between men as a grounds for deferral from March 2022.

[8] From January 2017 to March 2022, MSM were required to abstain from all oral and anal sex for a 12-month period prior to donation.