Family urge inquiry into lost blood samples

A FAMILY plagued by illness will today meet the minister for health to demand an inquiry into how their blood samples were lost by the health authorities.

Vital pathology samples given by the Geoghegan family could have unravelled a spate of health problems in Askeaton, Co Limerick, but they disappeared.

The tests were lost in suspicious circumstances by the Mid Western Health Board (MWHB) and the family want Micheál Martin to immediately launch an investigation.

The Geoghegan family, Pat, 40; Nuala, 39; Amanda, 10; Meghan, 2, from Askeaton, became mysteriously ill in 1997.

"We want answers at last and surely there are grounds now to establish a new investigation. People in Askeaton are still suffering," Pat Geoghegan said.

The family's calls for a new inquiry have been backed by Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and the Green Party. A local audit showed that cancer rates in Askeaton are three times above the national average.

Sixty-four cancer cases have been identified in a zone measuring four and a half square miles in the Cappagh/Croagh area where the Geoghegans live.

The MWHB said these findings were inaccurate.

Prior to the mid-1990s, none of the Geoghegans had suffered any serious ailments. When they became ill in 1997, they provided the MWHB with more than 20 blood, urine, hair and nasal swab samples.

The Geoghegans suffered chronic fatigue, stomach pains, and severe skin rash at this time.

The family handed these samples to health officials over an 18-month period between 1997 and 1998. Pat and Nuala Geoghegan wanted these samples tested for toxic chemicals.

In March 2001 the board apologised to the Geoghegans and admitted the samples were lost through a combination of "human and system error."

The health board ruled out the possibility that a conspiracy led to their disappearance.