Blood products used by haemophiliacs will be electronically tagged for the first time under a safety project aimed at minimising the risk of infections.
The quality initiative, the first of the kind internationally, has been hailed as a major breakthrough by clinicians and patients eager to avoid any repetition of the HIV and hepatitis C infection tragedies of the 1980s.
Under the €1 million project, all blood products will be labelled with a bar-code that can be checked against patient records, thereby allowing a more efficient recall if a safety concern arises.
Dr Barry White, director of the National Centre for Hereditary Coagulation Disorders at St James's Hospital, said the scheme "will set a new standard for safe administration of haemophilia treatment". As well as being the first electronic tracing system in the world for haemophilia, it was the first time such technology had been used for prescriptions and treatment assessment in an Irish healthcare context.
St James's is planning a similar scheme in cancer treatment.
Dr White said the project should be seen in the context of the introduction in 1997 of synthetic, or recombinant, products for the treatment of haemophiliacs, which further sought to eliminate the risk of infections. "We always assume risk with medication, and we plan for it."
Mr Brian O'Mahony, president of the World Federation of Haemophilia and a representative of the Irish Haemophilia Society, said, in introducing the scheme, "medical practice is catching up with what supermarkets have been doing for years" as regards tracing.
Some 600 people with haemophilia will benefit from the initiative, which is being rolled out next month on a pilot basis at St James's. Some 200 patients who treat themselves at home will be supplied with hand-held computer devices to ensure all treatment information is recorded on an ongoing basis.
