1 in 100 Australian blood recipients risk death from old blood

This media release was issued by the TGLRG on 14.8.08.

An expert witness in the Tasmanian gay blood donor case has claimed that the death rate from transfusing blood stored longer than 14 days may be 1 in 100.

The claim has been made by Dr Scott Halpern in evidence to the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, and is based on highly-regarded research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

According to the Red Cross's own figures 13% of blood available for transfusion in Australia is older than 14 days.

In his evidence to the Tribunal comparing the risk of death from old blood and the risk of HIV infection, including in countries with high rates of HIV like South Africa, Dr Halpern said,

"I think we're talking about one in 100 risk of death on the one hand with using old blood, and about a one in a million risk of HIV on the other...much rarer than getting struck by lightening."

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said that Dr Halpern's figures help put the risk from HIV infection in context.

"The risk from allowing donation from gay men who always practise safe sex in monogamous relationships is so low it can barely be calculated", Mr Croome said.

"Why is the Red Cross obsessed with stopping these men donating but indifferent to the very high risk of death faced by every 100th patient who receives old blood?"

In his evidence Dr Halpern said that if the Red Cross was to discard high risk old blood Australia would suffer an immediate shortage that would require a reassessment of the current blanket ban on gay blood donation.

Dr Scott Halpern is a bio-ethicist and epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a consultant to the US Centre for Disease Control and the US Food and Drug Administration.

His number between 9.30am and 11.30am today (AEST) is (0011) 1-215-985-9229

For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668.