An Oireachtas committee has expressed concern that an EU directive on the quality and safety of blood collection could leave Irish patients open to infection from imported blood.
The medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), Dr William Murphy, told the Committee on European Affairs there was no provision in the directive for a commission-based authority to oversee how well each state implemented the standards.
The directive makes it mandatory for each EU state to set up a national authority to inspect the blood service and the new requirements. Dr Murphy said each member-state must enforce, with due diligence, the provisions of the directive.
In a briefing, the committee was told the proposal, once adopted, would establish a minimum regulatory and administrative foundation for transfusion services. It would also facilitate the exchange of human blood and blood components within the community.
A Fine Gael TD, Mr Sean Barrett, said it was the committee's responsibility to ensure any gaps in the directive were filled. "This is an extremely important issue. You do not get a second chance if something goes wrong with a blood transfusion. The next port of call is a coffin."
He said he was not happy, given the expansion of Europe and free movement, that areas such as the importation of blood were sufficiently protected.
"We have experience to show, and we should not be afraid to say it, that you cannot be careful enough. We should bring that experience to Europe and make absolutely certain that Europe as a unit does not make the same mistakes we did."
Mr Gerry Coffey, of the Department of Health, said the committee's view would be reflected by the Irish delegation.
He added that officials from the Irish Medicines Board would inspect the standards in other states and satisfy themselves that patients receiving imported blood in Ireland were not put at risk.
The committee chairman, Mr Bernard Durkan TD (FG), said he would like to have a further meeting on the directive before it became law.
Dr Murphy said donors in some member-states were given a day off work if they donated blood.
Irish authorities would not agree with this practice, as it could be seen by some people as an incentive to withhold information about their past exposure to infection.
