Blood board report defended

Conclusions reached in the report published last month by the expert group on the Blood Transfusion Service Board remain valid…

Conclusions reached in the report published last month by the expert group on the Blood Transfusion Service Board remain valid, the group's chairwoman has told an Oireachtas committee.

Ms Miriam Hederman O'Brien was replying to a letter from the Select Committee on Social Affairs, chaired by Mr Seamus Pattison TD. She was surprised by a question in Mr Pattison's letter as to whether the group had asked for all relevant documents. "To have failed to do so would have been negligent on our part."

The group ceased to exist following the submission of its report to the Minister in January and she would only seek to have it reconstituted if she became aware of information which contradicted a conclusion or invalidated a recommendation.