The Government has declined to be drawn into the controversy over the centralisation of bloodtesting in Dublin. The Blood Transfusion Service Board has decided to close the testing facility in Cork which identified hepatitis C and HIV viruses in infected blood products.
The chairman of the Cork-based Blood Products Liaison Group, Dr Catherine Molloy, criticised the BTSB for attempting to downgrade the Cork facility. These were "appalling times for recipients of all products inadvertently infected with hepatitis C and HIV viruses", she said, adding: "Simple logic would suggest that the cross-checks offered by a centre of the calibre of Cork should make it a priority centre for development and urgent upgrading of its buildings."
The national medical director of the BTSB, Mr William Murphy, denied that the Cork laboratory would cease to function completely. He said that the BTSB was following international trends in centralising its blood-testing facilities to prevent a duplication of resources.
The Kerry South Independent TD, Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, is expected to raise the matter with the Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan. Mr Healy-Rae, who is a member of the Southern Health Board, said that he was not satisfied with the current situation, which he had already discussed with the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the location of blood-testing facilities was a matter for the BTSB. A Government spokesman declined to comment on the controversy or on Mr Healy-Rae's comments.