An apology was tendered by the Blood Transfusion Service at the tribunal for the first time yesterday. The agency apologised for not informing a doctor and hospital that one of their patients had been issued with an HIV infected product.
The tribunal was told an elderly woman received the infected product in December 1985 and although it was realised the next day at Pelican House that the product came from an infected donation, it did not contact the woman or Wexford General Hospital, where she was a patient.
The woman's family were present to hear the apology from the deputy medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (as the BTSB is now known), Dr Emer Lawlor. She said there could have been no justification for not telling the hospital or the woman's doctor and she apologised for this lapse. However, she said the issue of whether the patient should have been told was a matter for her doctor.
The woman, who died some months later of her underlying disease, believed to have been leukaemia, received the infected platelets (a blood component essential for blood clotting) at Wexford General Hospital on December 9th, 1985. One day later the blood donation from which they came tested HIV positive.
Mr Gerard Durcan SC, for the tribunal, asked Dr Lawlor if she could give any explanation on behalf of the BTSB as to why relevant persons were not informed.
"No, I can't and I'm sorry that it didn't happen and I just would like to express my apologies on behalf of the BTSB that it didn't happen," Dr Lawlor said.
She agreed with Mr Durcan that because of the woman's condition, she was liable to have nose bleeds. However she said the risk of her passing on HIV to her family or treaters was not significant.
Mr Durcan said the woman's family became aware of the situation and spoke to her doctor at Wexford General Hospital who passed on to the BTSB their "very considerable concern".
"Were they right to be upset and concerned?" Mr Durcan asked. Dr Lawlor said she understood their concern.
She said at the time platelets had a very short shelf life and regularly had to be issued untested for HIV in emergency situations. At the time blood donations were tested for HIV on the day after they were collected but in this case platelets had to be issued on the day the blood from which they came was collected.
Mr Durcan put it to her that untested platelets were issued "relatively regularly". Dr Lawlor agreed this was "not very satisfactory" but it was related to the 72-hour shelf life of platelets.
Counsel said within about 11 days of the Wexford incident there was correspondence to show the BTSB was changing the packaging of platelets to extend their shelf life. Dr Lawlor said she believed the change would probably have happened anyway.