IBTS sets strict curbs to cut mad cow risks

STRICT rules to reduce the risk of contracting the human form of mad cow disease through blood transfusion were introduced yesterday by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS).

The measures to reduce the risk of transmitting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) include an extension of the ban on donations from donors who:

have spent three or more years in Britain between 1980 and 1996.