Vol. 475 No. 1
34 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Health the progress, if any, on the optional HIV testing programme which becomes necessary following the discovery prior to Christmas that the Blood Transfusion Service Board was unable to trace blood issues which may have been contaminated with HIV; the reason for referring the information pack on the testing to the Attorney General; and the progress, if any, made in tracing the blood issues. [4350/97]
Limerick East): I announced in the Dáil last December that, following the introduction of the HIV donor screening test by the Blood Transfusion Service Board in October 1985, no lookback was undertaken between 1985 and 1989 in respect of earlier donations made by donors who were now screening positive for HIV. A lookback procedure was in place from 1989 onwards for newly-presenting donors.
The position in relation to the progress in tracing potentially HIV-infected blood issues is that there are still ten potentially HIV-infected issues which have not yet been traced by the BTSB and there can be no guarantee that all or indeed any of these issues will ever be traced. There is also the possibility that some donors who were HIV positive prior to the introduction of HIV screening of donations in October 1985 did not donate after October 1985 and cannot, therefore, be identified.
I decided, therefore, to introduce an optional HIV testing programme. Details of the programme have been referred to the Chief State Solicitor, and thence to the Attorney-General's office for certain legal advices.
