There is an appeal for blood donations with stocks in the country at a critical level.
High demand means there are just two days of supply of O positive and three days for other key blood groups.
Clinics are being held at weekends and in some cases in the evening to facilitate donors.
A blood clinic is currently underway in the Tullycorbet Community Centre until 8pm tonight.
Donating blood significantly impacts others lives, as transfusions are critical for those facing serious medical conditions.
Barry Doyle from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, says there are a number of factors contributing to low supply levels: "Hospital demand for blood has been high, particularly during March.
"This has coincided with bank holidays around St Patricks day and Easter, with some donors taking advantage of the holidays and good weather, meaning they have been unavailable for clinics during that period.
"The IBTS aims to have 7 days' supply at all times, however, current supply levels for most groups are significantly below this, with Group O Positive being at its lowest level this year. We have added 5 extra clinics across the country for this Sunday April 12th.
"We are also seeing lower booking rates than normal for our permanent centres in Dublin and Cork, and it's vital we see these improve. Ideally, we need to increase our collections by an additional 500 donations per week across all blood groups before the May bank holiday, to be able to meet the consistently high demand.
"A stock management letter has been issued to all hospitals today advising them of the situation. This enables the IBTS to manage the limited blood supply available more effectively across the health service. We are working closely with the hospital teams to prevent the need to cancel elective surgery or restrict treatment of patients."
