§ Lord Clement-Jonesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the recent publication of a letter by G. F. Reidler in Vox Sanguinis, which identifies deaths as a result of non-infective complications of blood transfusions, why they have not taken steps to prevent avoidable deaths and serious morbidity.[HL4251]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)The safety of blood and blood products used in the National Health Service is of paramount importance. Although most United Kingdom sourced fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is not virally inactivated, high levels of safety are achieved by using single unit, as opposed to pooled plasma, by screening out potential high-risk donors and by testing every unit of donated blood for the presence of infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C before it is released to hospitals. In addition, the National Blood Authority (NBA) is conducting an options appraisal of means to minimise the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury from FFP.
The decision taken to import single unit FFP sourced from the United States for young babies and children born after 1 January 1996 will provide additional protection to the most vulnerable group who will not have been exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy through the food chain. The NBA is
63WAinvolved in arranging for supplies of FFP for this group of patients. A commercially produced, pooled FFP product sourced from the United States is also available for the National Health Service to purchase.
The Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissue for Transplantation will continue to review the risk of new emerging viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the blood supply. There is no evidence at present that SARS can be transmitted by blood transfusion.