Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 April 2004
318 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children the guidelines in place to protect the rights of persons who have in the past donated blood; if, after not donating for a number of years, the persons names are removed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10757/04]
View answerThe Irish Blood Transfusion Service holds records, both manually and electronically, for all active donors, lapsed donors and donors who have been excluded from donation for one reason or another, for example, development of a medical condition, spent more that five years in the UK, etc. Its records are treated in the strictest confidence and are protected by the terms of the Data Protection Act. Donor information is not released to third parties without the written consent of the donor. The IBTS does not remove records from its database as it may need access to a donor's records for look-back to trace previous donations should the need arise.
