Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her views on the internal audit carried out by the IBTS which found that blood products had been sold to commercial interests without the knowledge or consent of the donors concerned; if she has satisfied herself that appropriate procedures are in place to ensure that such abuses do not happen in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4233/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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On 3 December last, I received a copy of an internal audit report of the Irish Blood Transfusion Services Board, IBTS, on discard blood products. The audit involved a search of available records to determine if blood or blood products were issued or sold to commercial companies and what volumes were involved from the 1980s to date. This audit was carried out at the request of the chief executive in November on the records of the Dublin and Cork blood centres.

The report noted that in March 1997, the national medical director of the IBTS issued a memo outlining procedures for the issue of products for research purposes to academic and health care institutions. From that date, the practice of providing product to commercial companies was discontinued at Pelican House in Dublin. At the Munster regional transfusion centre, MRTC,the definition of health care institutions was taken to include a number of commercial ventures.

The national medical director issued a subsequent memo in March 2002 to the MRTC clarifying the policy on the issue of products to commercial companies, stating that "provision of materials to these commercial companies should be suspended with immediate effect". There was no further issue of products to commercial companies after that date.

I have been assured by the IBTS that this practice has been discontinued and that no products have been issued or sold to commercial companies since 2002.