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Ottowa, Ontario, January 1, 1998
Hundreds of cases of HIV infection could have been prevented if safety precautions were taken by Canadian government regulators and medical suppliers in the early 1980s.
This is the conclusion of a commission of inquiry lead by Justice Horace Krever of the Ontario Court of Appeal. The results of this "exhaustive investigation" into causes of HIV and hepatitis C infections in blood transfusion recipients and hemophiliacs were made public in late November. The Canadian Red Cross has since made far-reaching changes in the country's blood distribution system.
Although Krever didn't assign criminal or civil liability in the 1,138-page report, he did place 95 Canadian government and Red Cross officials, and pharmaceutical company officials on notice that they might be liable for 157 misconduct allegations. Investigation of possible wrong-doings is currently under way by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Some highlights of the report's findings:- Government regulators and the Canadian Red Cross did not initially take the risk of a bloodborne AIDS virus seriously. (Canada did not begin to test blood for HIV until 1985, 8 months after the US began to use the ELISA screen.) In the early 1980s, blood from donors at high risk of HIV was not rejected. The response by the Red Cross was "...half-hearted and ineffective..." in regard to protecting the nation's blood supply.
In addition, the report found the Armour Pharmaceutical Co., currently owned by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc, violated Canadian law in 1985 by failing to inform government regulators that its blood products could be contaminated with HIV.
The commission is recommending that all past and future recipients of contaminated blood be offered compensation by the Canadian government. The National Archives of Canada will maintain a full record of all reports and hearings on this matter.
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