§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the(a) total national cost, (b) the average cost to health authorities and (c) the cost to Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority for the screening of blood products for CJD infection; if he will make a supplementary allocation from central health funds available to cover these costs; and if he will make a statement. [89016]
§ Mr. HuttonThere is no test available at present for screening blood or blood products for Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease infection. However, the Government have instructed the National Blood Authority to leucodeplete (ie remove white blood cells) from blood for transfusion and not to use United Kingdom-sourced plasma in the manufacture of blood products for the time being. The estimated cost nationally to health authorities of these measures in 1999–2000 is £73.5 million. The cost to individual health authorities will vary depending on their usage of blood throughout the year, and information on the average cost to health authorities and to Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority is therefore not available centrally. Account was taken of this additional cost pressure when allocating additional resources to health authorities in 1999–2000.