Keeping our blood supply disease-free is ongoing task
Monday December 14 2009
How safe is it to have a blood transfusion these days and what is the risk of infection? Back in the 1990s the country's faith in our blood supply was rocked by various scandals involving the infection of blood and blood products with Hepatitis C and HIV.
People with haemophilia were given HIV-contaminated blood products and over 1,000 mothers, who received the blood product Anti-D to prevent them having blue babies, were infected with Hepatitis C.
The good news is that patients appear to have least to fear from these two major viruses. Thanks to advanced technology the chances of getting infected with either is one in several million as long as proper safety procedures are followed.
However, there are new and emerging threats from other infections which the Irish blood bank must keep in check.
Dr William Murphy, medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), said that donors who have been around the world can unwittingly bring back viruses for which there are no tests yet available to detect if they are in the blood supply.
"The IBTS has to expend a lot of effort in keeping the blood supply free from infectious diseases. Donors travel to all corners of the world and carry back infections that can be passed on through blood and tissue donations," he explained.
These include the West Nile virus and Chikungunya, two viral infections spread by infected mosquitoes.
It means if donors have been abroad in areas where they could have been exposed to these viruses they have to be deferred from giving blood for several weeks or months.
West Nile virus is an infection in birds, which can occasionally be transmitted to humans via the bites of certain mosquitoes.
Normally the infected person will not show signs of the illness but they may have mild flu-like symptoms and, in a few cases, it can develop into a more severe condition.
Chikungunya can cause severe joint pain as well as fever and rash although it is rarely life threatening.
There is also the ongoing threat from vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease, which has caused the death of four people in the Republic. No test is yet available but a system which has been in place for a decade involving the removal of white blood cells is seen as a major step in reducing the risk from the infection.
Eight cases of suspected transfusion-transmitted infection were reported last year but most were excluded except for a sexually transmitted disease infection which could have been due to contaminated red cells given to the patient.
The recession has been good for blood supply and there is evidence that it has led to a "return to volunteerism". This is reflected in the numbers attending donation clinics and the IBTS was able to maintain its supply "comfortably" during the year.
The facts
? 0 positive is the most common blood group in Ireland.
? One in four will need a transfusion during their lifetime.
? 1,000 people get transfusions each week.
? 70,000 patients have transfusions in hospital each year.
? One car accident victim may require up to 30 units of blood.
- Eilish O'Regan
Irish Independent
