§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the profit made by the blood transfusion service on each 1,000 pints of donated blood bought by private sector health institutions; what method is used to determine the price at which blood will be sold to the private sector; how much blood was sold in total for each of the last 10 years to the private sector for all blood groups and the rarest blood groups; what was this as a percentage of total blood donations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanNo profit is made on any blood or blood components supplied to non-NHS hospitals by the national blood transfusion service. Since 1 April 1984 charges have been made to the private sector to recover the cost to the NHS of collection, processing, handling and transport. No charge is made for the blood itself. Information about the groups supplied is not held centrally. Blood issued to non-NHS hospitals is shown in the table.
National Blood Transfusion Service: England and Wales1 Year Total blood donations Units of blood issued to non-NHS hospitals Units of blood issued as a percentage of total donations 1979 2,020,919 n/a n/a 1980 2,094,177 n/a n/a 1981 2,127,432 n/a n/a 1982 1,942,997 31,437 1.6 1983 2,017,018 40,786 2.0 1984 2,038,937 49,232 2.4 1985 2,007,931 54,327 2.7 1986 2,023,841 64,040 3.2 1987 1,989,779 84,361 4.2 21988 2,033,005 75,961 3.7 1 The figures relate to Wales and 12 regions in England as information is not available for Oxford region. 2 Provisional.
§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether blood donation shortages have been reported to his Department in any of the last 10 years by any public body for use by National Health Service institutions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanI regret that systematic information about representations received over the last 10 years could not be supplied except at disproportionate cost. Up to 1 October 1988 the day-to-day responsibility for maintaining blood supplies rested with regional transfusion centres (RTCs) and the Department would not necessarily have been informed of any local shortages. The national directorate of the blood transfusion service was established from 1 October 1988, and arranges the transfer of blood to RTCs experiencing temporary shortages.