A blood donor has said he is outraged at the way the Blood Transfusion Service Board informed him he may be at risk of contracting Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease.
Mr Patrick Burke, who has been donating blood for 22 years, received a letter from the BTSB last week. It stated that while answering a new question on the donor questionnaire he had informed the board of a spinal fusion carried out three years ago.
The letter said that donors who have had surgery done to the brain or spine might have had repair material used called dura mater. "Dura mater is a tough layer covering the brain and spinal cord and, up to several years back, surgeons used dura mater from human sources for some operations. This material carries a remote risk of transmitting Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, which is itself a very rare condition (one in a million worldwide)," it said.
The letter, sent by a BTSB doctor, then sought Mr Burke's permission to authorise the board to make contact with the hospital where the procedure was carried out to obtain further details. It also asked him not to make any further donations until the inquiries were complete. "I would like to reassure you that the likelihood of you having had such a graft is extremely remote."
Mr Burke, a Dubliner who underwent back surgery, said he was very angry at the way the BTSB had informed him of this matter. "How would anyone feel if they got a letter like this? I think it was tactless and unprofessional. At best they could have contacted me and asked me to come in. Of course I am in favour of anything that makes the blood supply safer, but to write to someone out of the blue and tell them they may have contracted CJD is outrageous."
Mr Burke attempted to contact the surgeon who carried out the operation that day. "He was in theatre, so he wasn't able to get back to me until around 6 p.m. I sweated blood for the day until he told me that he had not used dura mater."
The medical director of the BTSB, Dr Willy Murphy, said yesterday that he understood Mr Burke's objections and was sorry if the letter had caused him anguish. "I understand why he does object. But some people prefer it one way and some the other. I think we go on the basis of what we think is reasonable."
Dr Murphy said that if the BTSB were to telephone someone and ask them to come in for a meeting "it would give them a bigger fright".
He said that about 30 such letters have been sent to donors and there had been no other objection. Six donors who received dura mater or whose notes have gone missing have been asked not to donate any further blood.