An electronic tagging system for haemophilia products to be piloted by the Eastern Regional Health Authority will be the first of its kind in the world.
Currently the system is administered by a combination of manual and electronic tracing which can be liable to error. Approximately 40,000 vials of factor concentrate are distributed to around 400 sufferers for use at hospitals and in the home.
Launching the system today the Minster for Health, Mr Martin, said tracking is a "critical component of haemophilia care" and that the new system would "represent a new international standard [providing] excellence in the storage, delivery, prescription and administration of haemophilia products".
Eighty haemophiliacs died after receiving contaminated blood from the Blood Transfusion Service Board in the 1980s and 1990s, while many others contracted HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C.
The board was disbanded and the Lindsay Tribunal set up to inquire into the scandal. Among its recommendations was the setting up of the National Haemophilia Council to identify and advise on the implementation of new procedures for treating sufferers.