Read a summary of this week’s evidence

Written by Jessica Bomford, December 3, 2021

This week the inquiry heard 4 days of evidence from experts in blood transfusion services.

The first witness was Dr Tony Napier, who was medical director of the Welsh Regional Blood Transfusion Service from 1977 to 1998.

Next was Professor Dame Marcela Contreras, pictured, who was deputy director of the North London Blood Transfusion Centre between 1980 and 1984 as well as chief executive and medical director of the North London Blood Transfusion Centre from 1984 to 1995. She took over as executive director of the London and South East Zone of the National Blood Service in 1995 where she stayed until 1999 when she became the national director of diagnostics, development and research at the National Blood Service until 2007.

Dr Napier and Professor Contreras discussed improving facilities at their transfusion centres, the impact of HIV and their response to it, as well as how they handled the introduction of blood screening tests for HIV and hepatitis C.

Click here for a summary of this week’s evidence. Transcripts of the evidence are available here. A weekly summary of all previous hearings can be found here.

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