Batches of two blood products for haemophiliacs have been recalled by the Blood Transfusion Service Board because a donor was exposed to what the board called an "extremely remote" risk of CJD.
Most of the State's approximately 300 haemophiliacs received Factor 8 or Factor 9 containing plasma donated by the man over the past 15 years, the BTSB said.
The products have been recalled although, according to Dr Willie Murphy, the BTSB's national medical director, "there is no evidence whatsoever of risk here."
The BTSB said in a statement yesterday evening: "The decision to recall is in accordance with the board's policy of abundance of caution in the face of any theoretical risk."
Only six patients currently have supplies of the recalled product in their home fridges, Dr Murphy said, as most are using an artificial form of Factor 8. Hospitals also have supplies of the recalled product.
The Irish Haemophilia Society has written to all its members about the issue, started telephoning all of them yesterday, and is providing a telephone helpline today and tomorrow. It will hold information meetings in Dublin and Cork at the weekend.
"Despite the fact that there have been no known cases of transmission of CJD via blood or blood products, people with haemophilia are naturally going to be very concerned about this withdrawal," the society said in a statement.
The risk came to light after a question about brain surgery was added last September to the questionnaire filled in by donors.
It revealed that one donor had been exposed to a risk of CJD as a result of brain surgery in the 1980s when he received a graft of dura mater, a lining which protects the brain and spinal cord.
The risk to this donor was "extremely remote," Dr Murphy said yesterday evening. Over 700 such operations have been done in this State without anybody developing CJD.
Tens of thousands of such operations in the world have produced 68 cases of CJD, he said. In these cases, CJD emerged within a few years of the operation, but the Irish donor has been clear for 15 years.
The donor's blood was used for transfusions and in the manufacture of products such as Factor 8 and Factor 9. In all, the man donated blood about 35 times.
Dr Murphy said there has never been an instance anywhere of CJD being transmitted by blood, blood components or blood products. The donor is in perfect health, Dr Murphy said.
The Irish Haemophilia Society has arranged for an expert from the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta to address two information meetings this weekend. He is Mr Bruce Evatt, who is also a consultant to the World Federation on Haemophilia.
The meetings will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Jurys Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin and on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the Imperial Hotel, Cork. The telephone helpline numbers are 01-6778529 and 01-6778488 and they are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow.