A doctor at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda has said she failed to inform the Blood Transfusion Service Board of a positive test result for HIV in one of her patients, although it threw doubt on the safety of the blood bank's products.
Dr Ann Murphy, a general paediatrician at the hospital since 1975, told the tribunal the patient's mother asked her not to inform anyone of the result. Dr Murphy was questioned about the infection of a haemophilia B patient, who was born in 1977 and identified by the pseudonym George, with HIV through BTSB-made factor 9.
A blood sample was taken from George for testing on November 25th 1985, which Dr Murphy believed was "at the mother's request". A positive result was returned around December 2nd 1985 and this was relayed to George's family.
The mother said she would inform Prof Ian Temperley, the medical director of the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre, of the result, as well as George's teacher and dentist, Dr Murphy said.
As a result, the doctor said the only person she informed was the patient's GP.
In hindsight it would have been "desirable" to have informed Prof Temperley directly. She believed the mother would tell the professor, who was also treating George. She said no counselling had been available at the hospital then. However, she told George's mother she could talk to her at any time.
She was unaware that there was no confirmed case then of BTSB factor 9 infecting a haemophiliac.
She had not been informed of a previous test at the NHTC, which was negative, and this lack of knowledge reduced "the impact of the significance" of the positive result.
Two other haemophilia B patients at Drogheda and four in Dublin and Cork were infected with HIV through the blood service's factor 9.
