A former senior official with the National Drugs Advisory Board yesterday said "it would have been better" if it had pursued the BTSB in 1985 over the need to heat-treat its blood products.
Dr Michael Morris agreed "with the benefit of hindsight" that the drugs board should have inquired further into what steps the blood bank was taking to guard against HIV.
He told the tribunal he believed it was felt at the time that heat-treatment would be taken up very quickly by the BTSB.
This was suggested by a letter in January 1985 from Prof Ian Temperley, former medical director of the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre, to the board in which the doctor said he had been assured by Pelican House that BTSB factor 9 "will be shortly heat-treated" to reduce the risk of infection.
The tribunal has heard, however, that BTSB factor 9 was not heat-treated until late 1985, resulting in non-heat-treated material being used up to February 1986. This product infected seven haemophiliacs with HIV, five of whom have died.
Under cross-examination by BTSB counsel Mr Frank Clarke SC, Dr Morris said it would have taken probably "a couple of months" for the board to process an application to vary an existing product licence to allow for heat-treatment. However, if it was an urgent application where patient safety was at stake, it would have been dealt with immediately.
Moreover, under examination by counsel for the tribunal Mr John Finlay SC, he agreed it would have been possible to allow doctors use heat-treated product on a named-patient basis until authorisation came through. The tribunal heard this occurred in the case of some commercial concentrates.
Dr Morris, who worked as senior pharmacist with the drugs advisory board between 1987 and 1995 and is currently pharmaceutical director of the agency's successor, the Irish Medicines Board, said its relationship with the BTSB was "quite different" to its relationship with drugs companies. The board and BTSB were seen as almost "on the same side of the fence". That began to change in the early 1990s, he said.
Evidence on the National Drugs Advisory Board was completed yesterday and the tribunal was adjourned until Thursday when a new phase, covering the testimony of expert witnesses, will begin. Dr Keith Hoots, a haematologist at the University of Texas, will be first to take the stand.
Mr Martin Giblin SC, counsel for the Irish Haemophila Society, expressed further reservations about the time available for preparation. Judge Alison Lindsay said, however, hearings would resume on Thursday as planned.
Last Saturday's tribunal report mistakenly referred to "Dr James Walsh, former chief medical officer with the BTSB". This should have read: "Dr Terry Walsh, former chief medical officer with the BTSB."
Dr James Walsh, former AIDS policy co-ordinator at the Department of Health, had no involvement with the matters referred to in the report.
