An expert group is to be set up by the Department of Health to follow up on women who received infected batches of anti-D but tested negative for hepatitis C. An increasing number of women have been contacting the Blood Transfusion Service Board to inquire if they received one of the known infected batches. A spokeswoman for the Department said yesterday that "a significant number" of women were not aware that they received an infected product. The BTSB was not taking a "proactive approach" in this matter because of "medical, legal and ethical considerations", according to the Department. "At present anyone who wishes to contact the BTSB can establish whether or not she received an infected product," she said. However, Positive Action, the group representing women infected with anti-D, said yesterday that the women had a right to be told by the BTSB as soon as possible. The precise numbers involved are not yet known, according to the Department, as the process of sorting through records and tracing dispatch records is still continuing. In order to assess the situation, the Department is establishing a group of experts, under the chief medical officer, Dr Jim Kiely, to discuss the matter in detail and make recommendations to the Minister.
According to the Department, Positive Action had been pressing for these women to be contacted and informed that they received an infected product.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the BTSB said it had presented evidence to the hepatitis C tribunal of inquiry stating that a number of people who received infected blood products had not yet come forward for testing. The board was following this up with individual people and hospitals.
In 1994, it had been agreed that the most effective method of reaching people who may have been infected was through a public campaign and national screening programme. To date about 75,000 people have come forward.
In the latter part of 1996 the BTSB, said the statement, became aware that not everyone who had been exposed to potentially infectious doses of anti-D in 1997/ 1978 had come forward for testing. Extensive cross-checking of lists then took several months before they identified 500 women whom they are contacting through their GPs. So far 76 have come forward for testing; six have hepatitis C. A number of the women involved are now concerned about previous test results and question whether the test used by the BTSB was sufficient if they had received a contaminated batch. There is particular concern that women who were infected in the early 1990s with anti-D, who have not come forward, should now also be contacted and asked to take a test for hepatitis C. Women infected at this time have been seen to benefit considerably from early treatment with Interferon. The BTSB not making them aware as soon as possible could also have serious compensation implications in the future.