Blood donors will know hepatitis C status in days

THE Irish Blood Transfusion Service will next week begin the process of contacting blood donors who were not told for years that they had tested positive for hepatitis C.

The 28 Munster-based donors, already identified by the blood bank, contracted the virus from infected blood and blood products.

They were unaware for two to three years that they had tested positive for an infectious virus in the early 1990s and, as a consequence, lost valuable time in seeking treatment.

When the blood bank’s national medical director Dr William Murphy returns from his holidays on Monday, his priority will be to immediately inform the infected donors of the delays.

The Finlay report, which examined the infection of Anti-D and other blood products with hepatitis C, found that some people in Munster were not immediately informed that they were infected due to concerns over the accuracy of a new test, first introduced in October 1991.

They were only told from late 1993 onwards, when a new test for the virus became available.

Only one of the 28 donors is aware of the delays and is suing the IBTS and the State for damages. Similar High Court proceedings are expected to be initiated by the other infected donors once they are informed.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, is considering the blood bank’s call for a judicial inquiry into the delays, which has already been welcomed by support group Positive Action as the best way forward for all concerned.

Another support group, Transfusion Positive, said they were now seeking an urgent meeting with Minister Martin to discuss recent events. Their concern at the moment was the immediate notification of the 28 infected donors.

Both support groups, which represent people infected with hepatitis C, spent the past five months negotiating the terms of reference for an independent inquiry into the delays, headed by a top lawyer.

They had agreed the terms of reference but had indicated that they would be seeking a judicial inquiry if the blood bank did not make full disclosure.

The acting chief executive officer of the blood bank, Andy Kelly, said yesterday that a judicial inquiry was the most transparent and effective way of investigating the delays.

Mr Kelly accepted there was a delay in dealing with the issue, which first became public at the Finlay Inquiry.

“For all our sakes we need to get to the bottom of these issues once and for all to close this chapter,” he said.