The Irish Blood Transfusion Service yesterday apologised "unreservedly" for the suffering and distress endured by people infected with HIV and Hepatitis C by contaminated blood products.
Referring to "failures" on the part of its predecessor, the Blood Transfusion Services Board, it said, "whether persons with haemophilia were infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C by local or imported product; or whether infection was caused before the identification of viruses or afterwards; the IBTS acknowledges and regrets all death and injury caused by products that were supposed to bring a better quality of life to people but which regrettably did the opposite. We wish to convey our sincere apologies to all those who have suffered."
"Judge Lindsay has delivered a fair and accurate report that reflects the state of scientific knowledge in the period being investigated," it said. "This is particularly relevant because people had to make difficult decisions in the past when the clarity of the scientific evidence available was not as obvious as it is today."
While the risk of viral transmission today is extremely low, neither the IBTS nor any blood transfusion service in the world can guarantee zero risk, it said. It is estimated the risk of contracting HIV from blood is one in 3.5 million and for Hepatitis C, one in 1 million.
"The biggest commitment the IBTS can give, not only to those who were infected in the past but to the Irish nation as a whole, is to make blood today as safe as it possibly can be," it said.
"We can only be ever vigilant and ever cautious about current and emerging threats without risking the ongoing supply of blood. The IBTS reaffirms these commitments today."