A restriction preventing gay men from donating blood in Ireland is expected to be reviewed in the coming weeks.
The current rules do not allow a man who has had sex with another man to give blood, in accordance with European Union rules on the risks of infections.
However the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is compiling a list of options for the chef medical officer which is due to be submitted before the new year.
Paddy Bowler is the operations manager at the IBTS. He told Newstalk Breakfast the rules are being looked at all the time.
The IBTS needs 15,000 donations over the coming weeks to maintain the blood supply.
To deal with this they are running additional Saturday and Sunday clinics before Christmas, between Christmas, the New Year and after New Year's Day to make sure there is blood available for patients over this period.
The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has also confirmed that the ban on gay men donating blood is under review.
Mr Varadkar says a report on the rule is due to be published within the next two months.
He says whatever decision is taken, it will be based on scientific facts.
Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar also discussed the government's approach to hospital waiting lists and reports of overcrowding in emergency departments:
