HC Deb 16 March 1987 vol 112 c410W
Mr. Cohen

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give financial support to buddies schemes in the context of assistance given in caring for the victims of AIDS; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Newton

We have not been asked to give support specifically for a buddy scheme, but the Department does give a grant to the Terrence Higgins Trust, which organises such a scheme as one of its activities.

Mr. Dobson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what it is intended to do with the supplies of blood plasma held at the Elstree Laboratories which date from before the National Blood Transfusion Service started to take action to reduce the chances of AIDS being spread in blood supplies.

Mrs. Currie

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 9 March at column72.

Mr. Mason

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps have been taken in (a) the Trent region and (b) Barnsley district general hospital to treat patients suffering from AIDS; what facilities have been established; how many have died of AIDS to date in (a) the Trent region and (b) Barnsley; how many are suffering with the disease; what is his estimate of AIDS carriers in these areas; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Newton

At the end of February, the number of reported AIDS cases for the Trent region was 12, of whom seven had died. The other information requested is not available centrally. The right hon. Member may wish to make inquiries directly of the Trent regional health authority, bearing in mind that, in the interests of patient confidentiality, it may not be possible to provide all the information requested.

Mr. Wallace

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether tests are carried out to ensure that AIDS is not passed on to any child conceived as a result of in vitro fertilisation.

Mr. Newton

[pursuant to his reply, 2 March 1987, c. 501]: The in vitro fertilisation technique may sometimes involve using donated semen. The Department of Health and Social Security/Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines issued to doctors and artificial insemination clinics last year will then apply. These recommend that all semen donors should be tested for the HIV antibody. Where the couple's own egg and semen are used in vitro fertilisation, there is no particular reason to recommend testing unless other factors require it.