Blood (Hansard, 25 July 1990)

§ Mr. Kennedy
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to enable United Kingdom health authorities to sell whole blood and red cell concentrates to health authorities in 1992 in the single European market.

§ Mr. Dorrell
No.

§ Mr. Kennedy
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to enable the United Kingdom blood transfusion service to develop a programme which, subject to acceptable and validated product quality, would ensure that all plasma-derived factor VIII concentrate used in the national health services will be derived from United Kingdom blood donors.

§ Mr. Dorrell
At present approximately 70 per cent. of the factor VIII used in England and Wales is produced at the Bio Products Laboratory from the plasma of unpaid donors to the national blood transfusion service. The remainder is commercially produced factor VIII which is imported into the United Kingdom. The imported products are prescribed as a result of the preference of individual clinicians. The Bio Products Laboratory is, therefore, meeting in full the demand for its factor VIII, as it is for virtually all other blood products. It is making efforts to increase its share of the blood products market in this country, but the choice of product remains with the clinicians.
Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.