Vol. 505 No. 3
178 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the concern expressed by a number of hospitals in the Cork region to the proposed removal of the testing of blood products in the Cork Blood Transfusion Service Board unit; the consideration he has given to this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13741/99]
Responsibility for the organisation and manage ment of the national blood transfusion service rests with the Blood Transfusion Service Board. Following the report of the Finlay Tribunal of Inquiry, the BTSB is implementing a wide-ranging programme of modernisation in order to adapt to emerging developments in transfusion medicine. A number of measures to further improve blood safety are being introduced this year at a cost of approximately £6.8 million. This has resulted in a unit price increase in red cells from £63 to £94. A new IT system is also being introduced at a cost of approximately £4 million. At the Cork centre, the BTSB recently completed the refurbishment of the components processing and compatibility testing laboratory at a cost of over £500,000.
Transfusion medicine is undergoing rapid change. New technologies and additional safety tests continue to emerge. The BTSB is continually assessing these developments to ensure that its practices are in line with best international standards consistent with efficiency and effectiveness. One such development is PCR testing which is being introduced on the advice of the medical consultants at the board following an evaluation of international best practice. This is the most sensitive way of detecting viruses in blood donations and requires high grade laboratories, expensive technology and expert technical support.
The board of the BTSB decided in February 1998 that PCR testing at both the Dublin and Cork Centres could not be justified having regard to international practice. The board decided that PCR testing for all donations would be performed in the new national headquarters which is currently under construction. The implementation of this decision will involve blood samples from donations collected in all parts of the country being tested at the new national headquarters. In the light of that decision, the board recently decided to examine whether all serological testing and not only PCR testing should be performed at the national headquarters. I might add that there is no suggestion of any change in relation to other scientific and technical services at the Cork centre such as blood grouping, components processing, compatibility testing and ante-natal screening.
Among the issues being addressed by the BTSB in its detailed assessment of the feasibility of having a single testing centre are: how best to provide a transfusion service in the light of the rapidly changing environment in transfusion medicine; the application of accepted international standards of practice in leading centres and blood services; the achievement of the goal of supplying 100 per cent of blood components on time and without fail; the likelihood of a substantial reduction in the use of blood components given the alternatives to blood transfusion which are currently available or being developed; the concerns of health boards and hospitals, including their concerns about the substantial increase in the costs of BTSB products; and the achievement of a service that is efficient and effective.
