More than 16,000 women may be recalled for hepatitis C testing by the Blood Transfusion Service Board (BTSB) as it is now known they received batches of anti-D believed to be contaminated.
It is not clear why these women did not contract hepatitis C. Some may have naturally cleared the virus but there may also be a small number who showed a negative result in preliminary testing in 1994, but actually have the disease.
The BTSB, having reviewed patient histories, now knows these 16,000 women were among those who received contaminated or potentially contaminated anti-D. It is not known what the health implications are. The women, all of whom have already been tested, may now need further testing.
An expert group established by the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, is reviewing what action should be taken. The group will examine the need for retesting, the health implications, what the women should be told, and whether they should donate blood.
It is generally anticipated the risk of infection is exceptionally low but it has not been established why these women tested negative.
A member of the expert group, BTSB consultant Dr Emer Lawlor, who has responsibility for the board's hepatitis C screening programme, told The Irish Times there did not appear to be any need to retest these women. However, it is believed other members of the expert group disagree.
A spokesman for the expert group said it was anticipated the women would not have suffered liver damage. "There is no reason to suspect that they should."
He said some members may hold the same view as Dr Lawlor. "Everything that is relevant will be on the table for discussion."
Ms Jane O'Brien, chairwoman of Positive Action, which represents women infected with anti-D, said yesterday the group had always been conscious that there were more doses of infected and potentially infected anti-D administered than the number of women who have been identified in the national screening programme.
"We raised this at the time of the Finlay inquiry and subsequently with the current Minister for Health. We are pleased that the expert group has been working in recent months to look at the implications of receipt of an infected or potentially infected batch by a wider group of women than is known about at present."
Ms O'Brien said Positive Action would "share the view that it is believed there is a minimal risk to the health of the women involved".
The expert group spokesman said it had also been examining two other groups of women who had received anti-D - those who had tested negative but who had an episode of jaundice, and women who were positive on the initial Eliza test but subsequently tested negative using a different test.
Mr Cowen told the Dail last month that these women were being contacted through their GPs and being offered referrals to anti-D units.
The spokesman said the BTSB had been able to get the information together on the third group of 16,000 women only "in recent times". Around 15,000 of these women would have received anti-D between 1991 and February 1994, and some 1,000 during the 1977 to 1978 infection.
Dr Lawlor said she did not believe there was a reason for retesting. The type of test used was used worldwide to test for hepatitis C. There was no evidence that if a person has had the virus and cleared it, there would be problems in the future.
She said up to 90 women had contacted the BTSB to ask if they had received an infected batch. Asked what their reaction had been to knowing they had received a potentially contaminated batch, Dr Lawlor said some were concerned, others reassured and some asked for referrals.