Infected Blood Inquiry

Read the latest news on the Public
Inquiry into Contaminated Blood

The taintedblood Timeline  -  what really happened...

"To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay, right or justice."
Magna Carta - 15th June, 1215

 
No of entries selected: 2 of 711
1975
6 January
Dr. J. Garrott Allen - Stanford University - Warning Letter to Dr Maycock
Dr J Garrott Allen, (former Professor Of Surgery, Stanford University, USA), writes a letter to Dr William Maycock, Head of Blood Transfusion Service, warning of the risks of commercial blood, particularly with regard to non-A non-B hepatitis and that as far back as 1975, that paying blood donors tempts them to lie about their circumstances and that this can compromise safety.

"As you know, Cutter's product Konye, for Factor deficiency, has proved extraordinarily hazardous, a 50-90 percent rate of icteric hepatitis developing from it. About half of these cases prove fatal."

"Cutter's source of blood is 100 percent from Skid-Row derelicts (Transfusion: May/June, 1974)."

Note: It is sad to read of the detrimental consequences of the UK purchasing commercial Factor VIII and IX upon the USA's attempts to form their own volunteer donor programs.

Source:
Type: Letter. Dr J Garrott Allen writing to Dr William Maycock of BPL. Dated 6th January 1975.
Location: USA
Find related entries
1980
3 March
DHSS - Question of Use of Foreign Plasma Within UK Processing Plants
In the minutes of a DHSS meeting of March 1980, attended, inter alia, by Dr Diana Walford, Dr R. S. Lane, Dr G H Tovey and Dr H H Gunson, we are concerned to read of plans for the possible use of imported plasma from paid donors within UK plants:

"On the question of the use of foreign plasma members agreed that because of the risk of contamination, imported plasma from paid donors should not be processed in [the] same plant as UK plasma. However, if industry were to function at ECONOMICAL capacity there might be no alternative but to allow it to fractionate imported plasma from overseas unpaid donors such as that which might be provided by voluntary transfusion services."

"The two types of plasma and finished product would have to be kept separate at all stages and there might have to be separate quality control arrangements. It was thought that monitoring such an arrangement would not be easy." (page 3, paragraph 5)

Note: These comments make it abundantly clear exactly how much the DHSS knew about the risk of contamination from imported plasma from paid donors. They knew about the risks in 1980. In fact, we know that they were warned in January 1975 about the dangers of sourcing commercial blood from paid donors. Now we have it documented, complete with names of attendees, that they knew for sure in 1980 - so there should be no more denials and pathetic statements about 'no wrongful practices' and no more excuses about being caught unawares by the ensuing AIDS crisis.

Under the heading 'Technology' on page 2, we learn of further evidence of an early awareness of the possibility of genetic engineering: "The method of fractionation should be negotiable; (in 5-8 years' time, fractionation by genetic engineering could be the more effective technology.)"

Note: It never ceases to amaze us as to exactly how far back in time the awareness within industry and the DHSS of the process of genetic engineering of synthetic factor concentrates actually goes. We are now able to trace this knowledge right back to March 1980.

Source: Original Source: DOH website FOI Volume 71 (pgs 59-62):
Link #2
Type: Minutes of a Meeting of the DHSS at Hannibal House. Date 3rd March 1980.
Location: UK
Find related entries
Timeline Copyright ©2006 Andrew March & Haydn Lewis
All rights reserved

 

Telephone

07717471460

Follow

Address

3 Fountain Place, Worcester, WR1 3HW

Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Website © Tainted Blood 2024