Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 1 July (WA 55), whether officials at the Department of Health were aware of the risk of vCJD that applied to infected beneficiaries supported by the Macfarlane Trust when they held their discussion with the Association of British Insurers.
Answer
The department was aware of the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) that applied to affected beneficiaries supported by the Macfarlane Trust when we were in discussion with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) following Lord Archer’s report into National Health Service Supplied contaminated blood and blood products. However, as identified in my Written Answer on 1 July (WA 55), the CJD Incidents Panel has separately discussed with the ABI the issue of patients who might be at risk of having been infected with vCJD after receiving contaminated blood and blood products.