Victim's story: The tribunal says it heard many heartrending stories in the course of its work and that none encapsulated the cruelty of what befell persons with haemophilia more clearly than the story of Rory "told with great courage and dignity by his mother. It also encapsulates the dilemma which faced treating doctors in 1983."
His mother, Jackie, told the tribunal that when Rory was born in 1973 he was diagnosed to be a person with severe haemophilia A.
They lived some distance from Dublin and, the report says, his mother was apparently initially advised by a doctor in the local hospital that Rory would have to be taken into care because otherwise he might bleed to death while being brought to hospital for treatment.
However, Jackie was reassured by Professor Temperley at the National Children's Hospital that this would not occur. He required frequent treatment and was often in considerable pain on the journey to Dublin for treatment following a bleeding episode. Arrangements were then made for Rory to have treatment in a local hospital.
In 1982 home treatment was suggested for him.
Jackie administered the first treatment at home in September 1983. The home treatment involved the use of commercial concentrates (clotting agents from which there was a risk of HIV infection and derived from plasma by commercial companies).
Jackie explained that she agreed to the home treatment despite a fear of injections because Rory hated hospitals and he was missing too much school.
Jackie's recollection was that Professor Temperley made no reference to the risk of AIDS associated with the use of commercial concentrates in a discussion with her in May 1983. Professor Temperley had no recollection of any such discussion and accepted it might not have taken place.
The report says the tribunal "readily accepts that the standards applicable then to discussing treatment options with patients were very different from now."
However, "the tribunal nonetheless believes even by the standards applicable in 1983 Professor Temperley should have discussed the risk of AIDS when advising Jackie on home treatment. Rory was later found to be HIV positive and developed an AIDS-related illness from which he died.