A new unit at the headquarters of the Blood Transfusion Service Board in Dublin will monitor closely any adverse reactions to blood transfusions in hospitals in the future and prevent a repeat of crises similar to the hepatitis C scandal.
The service, opened by the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, fulfils one of the key recommendations of the Finlay tribunal of inquiry into the infection of over 1,000 women with hepatitis C.
The National Haemovigilance Office (NHO), which is modelled on a similar unit in the UK, is viewed as a major step forward for blood safety. It aims to improve public confidence in the safety of blood and blood products.
At the unit's opening last week the Minister said the establishment of the facility was a significant development which would improve the quality of transfusion practice at all stages from donor to recipient.
Dr Emer Lawlor, director of the service, said that while the risks associated with blood transfusion were already extremely low, the BTSB was committed to reducing them even further.
"The strict donor selection criteria and the more sophisticated tests currently available reduce the risk of transmission of infection of HIV to one in 3.3 million and for hepatitis C to one in 500,000," she said.
She added that the NHO would place additional safeguards into the transfusion system.
Hospitals which notice abnormal reactions to the transfusion of blood or blood components must notify the unit, which will advise on follow-up action and report the matter to the Irish Medicines Board.
Speaking at the opening, Dr Lorna Williamson of the UK's haemovigilance office confirmed that just 3 per cent of the transfusion hazards reported in the UK over a 24-month period related to the transmission of infections during transfusion. Most resulted from the wrong blood type being given to patients.