Written question asked by Paul Beresford (Conservative) on Friday, 31 August 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 5 September 2012. It was answered by Dan Poulter (Conservative) on Wednesday, 5 September 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health.
Blood: Contamination
- Question
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(5) what the names are of the companies his Department and its relevant committees approached to (a) inform their thinking on extending importation of fresh frozen plasma and (b) estimate the cost of extending importation of fresh frozen plasma; and when each company was approached.
[119258]
Sir Paul Beresford:
- Answer
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On making the March 2012 decision on the importation of fresh frozen plasma, the independent scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) considered all the available evidence including safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. SaBTO concluded that there should be no extension of the importation of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to patients beyond those for whom it is already recommended (high-usage adult patients, and those aged 16 and under (i.e. born since 1996), who are unlikely to have been exposed to BSE through diet). SaBTO's terms of reference require consideration of cost-effectiveness evidence when making recommendations. A key consideration is the number of potential future clinical vCJD cases that might be caused by transfusion of FFP in the absence of any extension to importation. Given the continuing scientific uncertainties, a precautionary approach remains justified, and a wide range of scenarios have been considered. Nevertheless, the continuing absence to date of any known clinical cases attributable to FFP transfusion restricts the range of future possibilities, and the cost-effectiveness calculations used by SaBTO reflect this point.
Information used by SaBTO in making their recommendation is publicly available, redacted in accordance with freedom of information principles, at:
www.transparency.dh.gov.uk/2012/04/24/sabto-9-march-2012/
A copy has also been placed in the Library.
Details that could provide commercial information are not included for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 119258; 549 c362W
- Session
- 2012-13
- Related items
- Subjects
- Contamination Blood
- Link
- View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk
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- Timestamp
- 2013-11-20 05:48:10 +0000
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