Blood (Hansard, 12 January 2004)

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the safety of blood plasma and other blood products sourced in the USA following the positive testing for BSE in the USA; [146333]
(2) what additional safeguards he has put in place to ensure the safety of US-sourced blood plasma following the confirmation of BSE in US cattle. [146334]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The arrangements currently in place for importing blood plasma from the United States are based on the objective to secure long term supplies of non-United Kingdom blood plasma to ensure that the global plasma shortage would not reduce to national health service patients the availability of life saving plasma products, such as immunoglobulins and clotting factors.
The NHS has been using US sourced plasma since 1998 because of the unknown and unquantifiable risk of transmission of vCJD through blood. The US was the only country able to supply the quality and quantity of plasma required. The US also has a well established pool of donors, a well regulated environment and a developed collection industry. We are aware of the one case of BSE reported in the US, which is considered to be a negligible risk to the safety of the blood supply. This case is not in itself a reason to alter current arrangements but we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list regulatory and advisory bodies responsible to his Department dealing with blood safety. [145695]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The regulatory and advisory bodies responsible to the Department of Health for blood safety are the National Blood Authority and the Government expert Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation.

§ Mrs. Calton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics his Department collates on the incidence of blood borne diseases in recipients of blood products; and if he will make a statement. [1454481]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
Statistics on the incidence of blood borne diseases in recipients of blood products are not collected centrally.

§ Mrs. Calton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when blood testing for contaminated blood product-induced infections was started(a) with consent and (b) without consent; and if he will make a statement. [143396]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The safety of blood and blood products used in the National Health Service is of paramount importance. The current high levels of safety are achieved by screening out potential high-risk donors and then further testing of every unit of donated blood for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV before it is released to hospitals. Diagnostic tests became available for Hepatitis B in 1972, for Hepatitis C in 1991 and for HIV in 1984. It is a matter for health professionals to ensure 593W that consent for testing is obtained. Guidance on consent to examination and treatment is available on the Department's web-site at www.doh.gov.uk/consent.

§ Mrs. Calton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the(a) methodology and (b) effectiveness of screening for infections of (i) blood products and (ii) whole blood to be used by the NHS; and if he will make a statement; [145451]
(2) what assessment he has made of blood products from high infection risk groups being used in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [145458]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The National Blood Authority (NBA) and the Health Protection Agency have an infectious surveillance scheme that monitors the effectiveness of the blood screening programme and the methodology employed. The NBA also complies with the annually updated expert guidelines produced by the Council of Europe and with the requirements laid down in the European Union Directive 2002/98 on setting standards of quality and safety for the collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human blood and blood components.
The Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation provides expert advice to the UK Blood Transfusion Services on blood screening tests. The latest "Serious Hazards of Transfusion" report, published on 17 July 2003, indicated that the risks of transfusion transmitted infections in the United Kingdom are exceedingly small.