Irish Blood Transfusion Service has said it had to import blood due to a shortage with certain groups.
A spokesperson from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service confirmed that the 250 units of O Negative, A Negative and B Negative blood that arrived in Ireland this morning was imported from the UK.
It is due to Ireland's proximity to the UK that stocks are sourced from the NHS there.
In a statement today, its Medical and Scientific Director Dr Andy Godfrey said the response to the appeal was "exceptional".
The service collected 8,893 units, which is an increase of 1,141 compared to the same time last year.
"However, while an appeal would usually provide us with an additional 2.5 days of O RhD Negative, on this occasion O RhD Negative stocks actually fell by 0.8 days," Dr Godfrey added.
"The ongoing issue is because RhD Negative donors are a small proportion of the overall donor population which is now being exceeded by the increasing patient demand for RhD Negative blood.
"Optimising blood utilisation across jurisdictions in Europe is now routine practice and blood services are encouraged to have collaborative arrangements in place.
"Preventing any adverse impact on patient care is always our priority, so instead of restricting supply to hospitals, we are moving to following routine practice and liaising with other blood establishments to share these limited resources," he said.
