Hepatitis C case - Transparency vital in the blood service
Hepatitis C case - Transparency vital in the blood service
ECHOES resound of one of the biggest public health scandals in the history of the State following confirmation by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) that it is unable to discover how a woman developed hepatitis C last year after receiving three blood transfusions.
Confusion surrounds the case of 76-year-old Killarney woman Eileen Kelly who tested positive for the virus last June, months after receiving the last of three blood transfusions.
Inevitably, this recalls the furore after hundreds of adults and children were infected with Hepatitis C through infected blood or blood products between the mid-1970s and early 1990s.
Tribunals of investigation and compensation were established after some 1,200 people were infected with hepatitis C by the anti-D blood product.
Ms Kelly was admitted to hospital in September 2004 for corrective surgery in her foot, a relatively straightforward procedure, but went on to develop an infection and then contracted the MRSA superbug.
In all, she received two blood transfusions at Kerry General Hospital and one at St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cork. The blood cells were from five donors who have since re-tested negative for Hepatitis C.
Emphatically denying transfusion transmitted infection in the case of Ms Kelly, the IBTS stresses that in all cases investigated in the recent past, transmission through blood transfusion was ruled out.
In a worrying twist, Ms Kelly’s son Dennis has encountered difficulty finding out how she became infected. Illustrating the perplexing nature of this case, he believes the service confused her with another patient because, contradicting a reference by Dr Joan Power of the IBTS, he says his mother was never a public health nurse. He also claims she never received anti-D injections.
Dr Power was the whistle-blower in the major hepatitis C scandal and subsequently complained of being victimised by the system.
Mr Kelly disputes Dr Power’s reference to “a possible history of transfusion at CUH (Cork University Hospital) in November 2004”, insisting she did not receive a transfusion there at that time.
Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr Liam Twomey points to an “ongoing lack of transparency” in the blood service. Condemning the delay in tracking the blood donors, he also claims Mr Kelly had to continually seek information about what was being done to trace the source of his mother’s infection.
Ironically, Fine Gael’s election prospects were scuttled by the Hepatitis C scandal, particularly the controversy over former Health Minister Michael Noonan’s infamous handling of the case of Brigid McCole, who died after being infected with the virus.
In the current controversy, the IBTS suggests Ms Kelly may have been exposed to hep C infection during obstetrical and surgical treatments in the US, where she lived from 1950 to 1967.
Whatever the explanation, Dennis Kelly has not heard from the board since it informed him on December 13 that a sample would be sent to Edinburgh University of Edinburgh for analysis.
In the public interest, it is crucial that no stone be left unturned in bringing all the facts of this distressing case to light.
Mindful of the need for confidentiality, in order to retain public confidence, the IBTS must be accountable and transparent in every aspect of its important role in the health service.
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