Health: Hepatitis C

Lord Walton of Detchant Excerpts

Monday 20th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am sure that the noble Lord will know that precise figures are not available for that group, but I hope he will also recognise that we have taken steps to improve the financial help available to these unfortunate victims of the contaminated blood disaster of the 1970s and 1980s.

[Lord Walton of Detchant]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that under GMC rules on informed consent, it is not proper to take a sample of blood for another purpose and then to screen that blood for the presence of hepatitis without the consent of the individual? However, does he further agree that for research purposes or for epidemiological research, it is perfectly proper to screen large batches of blood samples taken for other purposes, such as epidemiological research, provided that the results are anonymised?

[Earl Howe]

The noble Lord is quite right that generally speaking there is no problem about using human tissue samples for research purposes where those samples are anonymised. In other circumstances, of course, the Act demands that the principle of consent should apply.