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Appointments to the Irish Blood Transfusion Board
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Health, Mr Simon Harris TD, has reappointed the following as members of the Irish Blood Transfusion Board:
Dr Kenny works as a Gastroenterologist in Cork University Hospital and Mater Private Cork. She qualified in UCC in 1984 and carried out a post graduate degree in University College Cork. Her main areas of research include viral hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and coeliac disease. She was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Medicine and APC UCC. She peer reviews articles for medical journals including Hepatology and the Journal of Hepatology on a regular basis. She has over 50 publications in national and international journals, including book chapters.
She continues research on an ongoing basis with Professor Fergus Shanahan with Science Foundation of Ireland funding through APC on the human microbiome in inflammatory bowel disease/irritable bowel syndrome. Her research in hepatitis C is a collaboration with national and international experts. From her seminal research in hepatitis C in Ireland she progressed to be the co-ordinator of the Irish Hepatology Group and was instrumental in the development and organisation of the six Hepatology Units in Ireland.
She acted as Chair of the Consultative Council which advised the Minister of Health on all aspects of hepatitis C over a 9-year period (2003 – 2012). She took up her appointment to the board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) in 2014. She was appointed Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee of the IBTS in 2014 and continues this role to date. In this role she has overseen the progressive revisions of the IBTS’s blood donor policies with MSM and the lifting of the previous restrictions related to vCID.
At this time of the COVID-19 pandemic she has been active in ensuring the IBTS’s leading role in conjunction with Irish haematologists in ongoing clinical research and the forthcoming clinical trial in the use of convalescent serum in the treatment of COVID-19.
Dr Pastila is Director of Blood Donation at the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service. She is a graduate of the University of Oula, University of Helsinki, University of Copenhagen, with an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Aalto University, Finland. Her fields of expertise include clinical infectious diseases, infectious diseases epidemiology, tropical medicine; internal medicine; blood donor selection, infection risks, residual risks, emerging infections in relation to blood banking and operations management, strategic management and leadership.
Before working in the FRC Blood Service, she worked for several years as a Consultant in Infectious Diseases, specialising in Tropical Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.
In 2000, she spent four months in Kosovo, as an ICRC delegate and as Hospital Director in a Regional Hospital. In the FRC Blood Service from 2003 until 2008, she was in charge of blood donor selection, blood directive implementation into practise, infection risks and residual risks related to blood components. In 2008, Dr Pastila was appointed the Director of Blood Donation. She is a member of the FRC BS Executive Board since October 2011.
In her current role as Director of the FRC Blood Service she participated in developing and setting up a novel vein-to-vein IT system for blood banking, comprised of CRM and AX software with integrations to LIMS and operational equipment. Her responsibility as Product Owner was the blood donation and donor register related section (CRM). The IT system was successfully deployed on 4th May 2020.
The Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, first appointed Dr Satu Pastila as a member of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service Board on the 7th June 2017.
Ms Williams is a chartered certified accountant with over 25 years professional experience Ms Williams has worked at the highest levels of executive management and has extensive management and leadership experience having worked at Group Finance Director and Managing Director level for companies.
A broad range of business experience covering Irish manufacturing, FMCG, financial services and start up situations has allowed Kate to gain excellent commercial experience, strong governance skills and practical hands on experience. Ms Williams role at FMCG and Food Service Industry was at Board level was at board level as Group Finance Director and saw Kate engage in Financial and Commercial management within a leading Irish family owned supplier to the retail trade.
Ms Williams was first appointed to the Board of the IBTS on 19th February 2014.