A doctor overseeing treatment services for haemophiliacs in the State in mid-1985 came away upset from a meeting with Blood Transfusion Service Board officials after trying unsuccessfully to convince them that all blood products should be virally inactivated immediately, the tribunal heard.
Dr Helena Daly said she informed the BTSB that it was considered "unethical" to use products on haemophiliacs which had not been heat-treated to kill the HIV virus. They did not seem to think heat-treatment was necessary.
The witness worked as a locum for Prof Ian Temperley, former director of the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre, from July to September 1985. Shortly after taking up the position she became concerned that haemophiliacs were being treated with blood products which were not heat-treated.
She contacted Prof Temperley, who was on sabbatical in London. They both agreed that all products should be heat-treated and she met the then national director of the BTSB, Dr Jack Riordan, and its senior technical officer, Mr Sean Hanratty, at Pelican House on August 13th, 1985, to inform them of this.
She told the tribunal it was not a pleasant meeting and did not run smoothly. She wanted heat-treated products for her patients. "They quickly told me it was not possible", she said.
Counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Finlay SC, asked if any agreement had been reached at the meeting. She said there was quite a lot of disagreement and in the end she was not sure she had convinced them of the urgency of heat-treating products.
After consulting Prof Temperley, Dr Daly wrote to the BTSB saying they were setting a deadline of November 1st, 1985, for all products to be heat-treated.