Written question asked by Patsy Calton (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 18 December 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 January 2004. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 12 January 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the (a) methodology and (b) effectiveness of screening for infections of (i) blood products and (ii) whole blood to be used by the NHS; and if he will make a statement; what assessment he has made of blood products from high infection risk groups being used in the UK; and if he will make a statement. - Including ref to DIR 2002/98/EC, Serious Hazards of Transfusion report.

Answer: Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the (a) methodology and (b) effectiveness of screening for infections of (i) blood products and (ii) whole blood to be used by the NHS; and if he will make a statement; [145451] (2) what assessment he has made of blood products from high infection risk groups being used in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [145458] Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Blood Authority (NBA) and the Health Protection Agency have an infectious surveillance scheme that monitors the effectiveness of the blood screening programme and the methodology employed. The NBA also complies with the annually updated expert guidelines produced by the Council of Europe and with the requirements laid down in the European Union Directive 2002/98 on setting standards of quality and safety for the collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human blood and blood components. The Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation provides expert advice to the UK Blood Transfusion Services on blood screening tests. The latest "Serious Hazards of Transfusion" report, published on 17 July 2003, indicated that the risks of transfusion transmitted infections in the United Kingdom are exceedingly small.

Secondary information