HL Deb 18 December 1986 vol 483 cc344-5WA
Lord Winstanley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether all stocks of blood products which might be contaminated with AIDS have now been destroyed.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Baroness Trumpington)

Transmission of AIDS by the Human Immonodeficiency Virus (HIV) has only been established for the blood products Factor VIII and Factor IX. There are no longer stocks of commercial Heat-Treated Factor VIII and Factor IX made from unscreened donations in the United Kingdom. Because they have been shown to be safe, as a result of a rigorous heat-treatment, stocks of Factor VIII and Factor IX made by the Blood Products Laboratory at Elstree (BPL) from unscreened donations are still held, although they are not issued for routine treatment. These products have a long shelf-life and limited clinical trials using batches of Factor VIII and Factor IX from these stocks are continuing under close medical supervision.

All Factor VIII and Factor IX distributed from BPL for routine treatment is heat-treated and derived from individually screened donations.