Written question asked by Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 22 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 July 2004. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 July 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what conclusions have been reached on the efficacy of leuco-depletion in preventing vCJD infections through blood transfusions.

Answer: Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what conclusions have been reached on the efficacy of leucodepletion in preventing vCJD infections through blood transfusions. [163477] Miss Melanie Johnson: Expert advice is that, if variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) is transmissible through blood, there is a possibility that white blood cells may carry the greatest risk of transmitting vCJD. As a precautionary measure, leucodepletion of all blood components was implemented in October 1999. If there is any infectivity in the blood of vCJD patients, even without leucodepletion, it is too low to measure by the methods currently available.

Secondary information