My Department has raised the concerns of the Deputy in relation to the risk of faulty testing and masking of results by steroids with the Blood Transfusion Service Board. My Department is informed that the BTSB currently tests for HIV, HTLV-1/2, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis, using standard validated methods. The range of tests are as comprehensive as any in Europe and conform to existing international standards.
The enzyme linked immunoassay, ELISA, tests used by blood transfusion services are extremely sensitive tests which detect hepatitis C infection in blood donors. These tests are automated and the only instances where the test will not detect hepatitis C infection in blood donors occur when individuals are in the early phase of infection before antibodies develop, which can take up to 66 days. This period is called the window period and to exclude any possibility of such donors donating, blood transfusion services internationally, including the BTSB, do not permit recipients of blood or blood products to donate for a year after administration. After that period they are again acceptable as donors if they fulfil the stringent health criteria in place for donation and test negative for the above viruses. Since the individuals referred to by the Deputy were exposed to anti-D, which had the potential to transmit infection between five and 20 years ago, the concern about failure of testing due to the window period donations does not arise.