Two former chairmen of the Irish Haemophiliac Society have told the Lindsay Tribunal that they were totally reliant on the advice of the medical profession regarding the choice of blood products. They were giving evidence on the first day of the Tribunal's inquiry into the Society's knowledge regarding clotting agents.
The tribunal has already heard that 'concentrated' blood products which emerged in the mid-70s went on to infect more than 220 haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C. Concentrated blood products were regarded by many haemophiliacs as wonder drugs when they emerged in the 1970s because they dramatically reduced time in hospital and increased quality of life.
Frank Bird, who was Chair of the Irish Haemophilia Society between 1979 and 1981, said today that none of its officers had medical expertise and relied on blood bank officials and treating doctors. He told the Tribunal that the Society was a small voluntary organisation which provided support to members by arranging bring-and-buy sales to help people get telephones.
Shay Farrelly, a committee member between 1981 and 1985, said that the society's representatives never had an input into what blood products were used. He also said that the Society had "no clout" on the high-powered National Haemophilia Services Co-ordinating Committee, which involved doctors and blood bank officials among others.
Mr Farrelly said that members' fears of HIV and AIDS were "allayed" in August 1983 by a letter from the leading haemophilia specialist, Professor Ian Temperley, and reproduced an article in their newsletter.
