The taintedblood Timeline  -  what really happened...

In March 1985, the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS gives consideration to the idea of conducting studies on samples collected from patients without consent:

"[Deleted Name] expressed his unease at 'freezer' studies being carried out on samples collected from individuals attending STD clinics who would not necessarily have given consent for such investigations to be carried out." (Page 4, point 12).

In the minutes of the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS in July 1985, it is clear that the Expert Group felt that it was acceptable to conduct Hepatitis B and HTLV-III antibody testing without always gaining the patient's consent:

"Patient's permission for hepatitis B testing was not always sought and, with a variety of tests being taken, it should not be necessary to inform the patient in all cases that these included a test for HTLV-III antibody." (Page 4, from line 8)

"It was also agreed that the result of the HTLV-III antibody test should not be awaited before undertaking other tests which might be critical in the treatment of the patient. [Deleted Name] said that with hepatitis B it was now acceptable that other tests should be done while the result of the hepatitis B test was awaited." (See page 4, from line 11.)