Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that blood transfusion donations are carefully monitored to prevent recipients from getting ill as a result.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the controls and authorisations that apply to sites that collect, test and supply human blood or blood components intended for transfusion, and controls of blood establishments and hospital blood banks.

If the blood is intended for transfusion the blood bank must comply with the United Kingdom's Blood Safety and Quality Regulations. The MHRA assesses blood banks for compliance with these Regulations.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) complies with the Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion Services in the UK which are published by the Joint United Kingdom Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC).

All blood donations are microbiologically screened and must be found negative before they can be issued for transfusion.

The European Union Directive on blood, set into UK law as the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations, defines storage, transport and distribution conditions for blood and blood components once collected. JPAC includes these requirements in the guidelines and these are followed by NHSBT.