The chairwoman of the Lindsay tribunal was urged yesterday to recommend the establishment of a new tribunal of inquiry to investigate the actions of pharmaceutical companies in the infection of Irish haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C.
In a closing submission for the Irish Haemophilia Society, Mr Martin Giblin SC, said the tribunal had heard evidence to suggest certain companies misled treating doctors over the safety of their products and "gambled" with the lives of haemophiliacs.
Were Judge Lindsay not to recommend an inquiry into the companies, he said, it would allow them "to escape being brought to account for manufacturing highly dangerous factor concentrate", which infected 97 haemophiliacs with HIV.
He said the evidence of Dr Don Francis, a former official with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggested the "horrendous" situation occurred whereby the plasma of high-risk blood donors was used by Baxter Corporation to make concentrates, in contravention of CDC guidelines.
Other expert witnesses testified to the fact that Armour Pharmaceuticals, a part of Revlon Inc, took a "calculated gamble with the lives of people with haemophilia" by exporting concentrate over which there were safety concerns.
The product was responsible for the death of one child in the Republic, Mr Giblin said.
Completing the three-day IHS submission, Mr Martin Hayden SC, urged the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, as the BTSB is now known, to "unreservedly apologise" to people with haemophilia for its role in the tragedy, its concealment of information relating to that role, and its "flagrant refusal" to waive privilege over confidential documents which would have helped the inquiry.
He said the response of senior management at the IBTS had resulted in further emotional trauma for the those who had lost loved ones.
Their refusal to acknowledge the damage done to public confidence in the blood supply indicated the IBTS had not learnt from its mistakes "and has only changed its name for public relations gain".
Mr Hayden recommended the agency be re-constituted so that officers had to inform people of infected blood or blood products.
He added that the destruction of any records which could be used to trace such products, and the misleading of a minister for health on blood safety, should both be made criminal offences.
On treating doctors, Mr Hayden said legislation should be introduced to allow a doctor who made a mistake to disclose it without liability implications.
Penalties for non-disclosure should be enacted, he said.
As regards prosecutions, Mr Hayden said that if the tribunal felt it was not in its jurisdiction to refer matters to the Director of Public Prosecutions, reference should be made to the Dβil with appropriate recommendations.
He concluded by saying that the IHS strongly urged members of the public to continue donating blood, and he thanked Judge Lindsay for having inquired into "many" of the haemophiliac society's concerns.