Martin rejects call for inquiry into how blood went missing

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin has rejected a call to investigate how blood taken from a Limerick family was lost by the health authorities.

The Geoghegan family from Askeaton pleaded with Mr Martin to examine how 18 blood samples were lost by the Mid Western Health Board (MWHB). The Health Minister informed the family earlier this week that he doesn’t intend to launch in inquiry into how the blood went missing.

“We’re devastated. This issue has gone on for so long, but we still haven’t got any answers.

“We need to get to the bottom of this and an inquiry is the only way to do that,” Pat Geoghegan said. The Green Party last night described the minister’s refusal to establish an investigation as “scandalous”.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the issue of the missing blood was high-profile and should be probed by the State.

“There are several big questions that need to be answered and no effort has been made to get to the truth. I don’t buy the theory that these samples went missing as a result of a series of mistakes,” the leader of the Green Party said.

Some 20 blood, hair and urine samples were handed over to the MWHB by the Geoghegan family over an 18-month period between 1997 and 1998. The family wanted the samples tested for seven chemicals linked to industrial pollution.

The Geoghegan’s hoped the tests would unravel a spate of mysterious animal deaths and health problems in Limerick, but all but two of the samples disappeared.

The illnesses included breathing difficulties, severe skin rash, join pains, constant fatigue and a high rate of miscarriages. In 2001, a MWHB investigation revealed the vital samples were lost through a combination of “human and system error”.

Documents released to the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act showed doctors within the MWHB were informed the missing samples were tested and results had been returned.