The former medical director of the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre said yesterday he had every sympathy for the relatives of AIDS victims who had suffered the "indignity" of being buried in a body bag.
Prof Ian Temperley told the Lindsay tribunal he did not prescribe this practice, nor did he want it. It stemmed from a "hysteria which was still prevalent in the community" about AIDS in the 1980s.
He stressed that he had no control over the policy. Rather he understood it was introduced by other department heads after mortuary attendants expressed concern about possible infection risks.
Prof Temperley was giving evidence to the inquiry on the counselling and follow-up services introduced at St James's Hospital, Dublin, following the outbreak of AIDS in the haemophilia community.
In a letter to the hospital's chief executive, Mr Liam Dunbar, in February 1987, Prof Temperley wrote that the hospital had responded in a "very sluggish fashion" to the issue and "I must accept some blame for this". The doctor said he stood by these remarks, saying he probably underestimated the facilities and staffing required for counselling patients.
Efforts were made by the National Haemophilia Services Co-ordinating Committee to make progress on the issue in March 1989. However, these were never followed up as the committee disbanded shortly afterwards.
Prof Temperley said this occurred because of tensions over litigation at the time. Doctors were concerned about being sued and "that did not help the atmosphere of the committee".
Later, Prof Temperley admitted there was no scientific basis to his assertion in June 1988 that "virtually all" haemophiliacs had been infected with NANB hepatitis, as hepatitis C was formerly known.
The claim was made in a letter to the board of the BTSB in which the doctor recommended that the blood bank continue to distribute heat-treated Factor 8 which carried a risk of hepatitis C infection rather than switch to a safer monoclonal product.
Prof Temperley confirmed that arrangements had been made for people with Factor 8 deficiency who had not been exposed to infectious concentrates to receive a pasteurised product free from the hepatitis C risk. No similar arrangements, however, were made for "virgin" Factor 9 patients.
