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British blood too risky for our childrenby JENNY HOPE, Daily Mailfemail.co.uk - 17th August 2002 Hospitals are to import U. S. blood supplies to ensure children under six are not infected with the human form of mad cow disease. The news deepened concern over the safety of British blood transfusions for other age groups. It follows research suggesting that the agent which causes variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease ( vCJD) is transmitted more easily than had been thought. Children born since 1995 will get the extra protection, throughout their lives, because they are young enough not to have been exposed to the infection in any other way, such as eating meat contaminated with BSE. Older children and adults will have to rely on existing safety measures. When a similar move was announced in Scotland last month, in a direct response to the research, health chiefs admitted they would like all patients to have 'lower risk' blood. But there is a shortage of supplies from 'safe' countries and serious cost implications in importing blood for all patients. The National Blood Service said fresh frozen plasma for all newborn babies and young children will now be obtained from the U.S. The cost will rise year on year as more children qualify. Blood for transfusions already has the white cells removed because they are thought of as Experts on ACRE, the Government's Advisory Commitpotentially the most dangerous carriers of vCJD. But recent experiments with animals have suggested that plasma - the liquid component - and red cells might also be routes for infection. Plasma is given to premature babies, babies and children having heart surgery or liver transplants and those who have suffered major injuries. Since 1998, plasma has been imported from the U.S. to make blood products such as clotting factors, which are used to treat haemophiliacs. The U.S. plasma for children will come from single units given by unpaid donors rather than pooled supplies. This will make it easier to trace the source if necessary and ensure that one infected donor cannot contaminate a large number of units. Unpaid donors are seen as safer, as there are fears that payments for blood attract donors from groups with a higher risk of infections. The plasma decision was welcomed by Frances Hall, who runs the Human BSE Foundation Helpline. But she said there should be safer supplies for all transfusion recipients. 'This is a first step, but it should be extended and sooner rather than later,' she said. 'The experiments with sheep have raised new concerns because humans are closer in disease patterns to sheep than cows and it seems a distinct possibility that blood could be infected. 'The main problem is getting supplies that are safer, because the disease appears to be cropping up everywhere.' Mrs Hall and her husband Derek lost their 20-year-old son Peter to vCJD in February Scottish health chiefs have already gone further than those south of the border, by deciding that transfusions will be given only in life-or-death situations. The Scottish Blood Transfusion Service is preparing to reduce transfusions by ten per cent - 10,000 fewer a year. It will mean an end to 'pick-me-up' transfusions, where patients - many of them elderly - are given blood to help them recover after operations and to ease the effects of debilitating conditions such as ulcers. There is currently no way of screening blood for vCJD and the disease is diagnosed only when a patient becomes ill and shows the symptoms. So far, there is no evidence that anyone infected with vCJD has passed it on through a transfusion. But tests on animals reported in the Journal of General Virology two weeks ago showed that one in six given blood from infected sheep appeared to have developed the disease. Official figures show there have been 122 confirmed cases of vCJD in the UK, six in France, one in Ireland, one in Italy and one in the U.S. Public health minister Hazel Blears said last night: 'The safety of blood and blood products used in the NHS is of paramount importance and every reasonable step is taken to minimise any risks during blood transfusion. 'It is never possible to guarantee 100 per cent safety, but we will continue to take advice from our expert committees.' |