The Blood Transfusion Service has been accused of being an organisation which was "rotten to the core" in the 1980s. It was alleged at the Lindsay Tribunal that senior officials were engaged in subterfuge to conceal the fact that its products infected haemophiliacs with HIV.
The charge was made by the Irish Haemophilia Society, which said the blood bank should apologise for the infections and admit that it distorted the truth before being re-constituted by the Minister for Health.
The Irish Haemophilia Society is making its final submission to the Tribunal, going back over more than 180 days of testimony and then suggesting conclusions which Judge Alison Lindsay should arrive at on the basis of the evidence.
Martin Hayden, Senior Counsel for the Society, charged that the blood bank was "rotten to the core".
He particularly concentrated on the infection of seven Irish haemophiliacs with HIV from a blood product called Factor 9, which was manufactured by the BTSB. Mr Hayden said that the blood bank was aware in 1986 of these infections, but chose not to tell their treating doctors.
Instead, he said, senior officers and board members initially distorted the truth by making coded references in minutes before trying to re-write history in 1989 by laying the blame at the door of international pharmaceutical companies.
He suggested that senior Department of Health officials and were aware of these developments and this amounted to State-sponsored concealment, a claim vigorously denied by Counsel for the Department.
Mr Hayden said that the blood bank should apologise for the infections - something it has not yet done - should admit it distorted the truth, and then be re-constituted by the Department of Health.
The blood bank and the Department will have the chance to respond in their closing submissions over the coming days.
