§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made at the blood products laboratory at Elstree towards meeting the needs of haemophiliacs in England and Wales for factor VIII.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe £60 million blood products laboratory is now producing factor VIII at record levels, but it is not yet possible to predict when we shall no longer need to import factor VIII. Yields so far are lower than expected though higher than the commercial producers', and a reappraisal of the buffer stock of plasma has shown it to be less than previously thought. Action is being taken by the central blood laboratories authority to increase yields and by the blood transfusion service to increase the collection of plasma which will lead to higher output over the next three years.