Risky blood: Manto may be sued
2004-12-09 10:40
Pretoria - If the government forces the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) to adapt its risk categories for donor blood in such a way that people contract HIV through blood transfusions, the minister of health might find herself being sued for damages.
Prof Christa van Wyk of the University of South Africa's law faculty said on Wednesday if the department of health forced the blood service to use the blood of high-risk donors, a strong argument could be made out to hold the state accountable for HIV infections through transfusions.
The blood service will probably have to revise practice standards - a document that spells out, among other things, the selection of donors - because it sets out risk categories.
The department and the SANBS board approved this document in 1998, which is an addendum to the law regulating blood transfusions.
Van Wyk in an earlier article explained that a person who was infected with HIV through a transfusion would have to prove that the SANBS or a doctor was negligent if they wanted to sue these parties.
She said it would have been virtually impossible to prove negligence if these parties complied with practice standards.
"However, if it can be proved that practice standards are insufficient to ensure the safety of the blood, a victim could hold the blood service, the SANBS board and the department of health responsible.
"In the same way, these bodies could be held accountable when blood is collected from known high-risk sections of the population and at clinics in areas with a high incidence of HIV, particularly when it is possible to meet the needs of recipients with low-risk blood."
- Beeld