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A witness described the positives of the use of concentrates for home treatment including quicker treatment.

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Dr Colvin in his evidence described an unwillingness for established clinicians to accept that Factor 8 might be flawed: he called the attitude "wishful thinking".

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When asked during oral evidence whether Professor Bloom was right to say that at present there was no proof that commercial concentrates were the cause of AIDS, Dr Colvin responded by saying that to him that seemed to be more wishful thinking.

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The availability of plastics in the 1950s enabled the collection of large volumes (gallons) of porcine and bovine blood from slaughter houses. These were transported to the laboratory in Oxford where plasma was separated, fractionated into components and freeze dried. In 1954, these products were available for clinical use.

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Russell's viper venom (Stypven), at a dilution of one in a million, was used in the 1930s as topical treatment for acute bleeds. It was of limited use as it could not be used systemically (into a vein) because it was toxic.

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Cryoprecipitate remained in constant use for treating von Willebrand disorder.

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A common side effect of treatment for haemophilia A was the development of Factor 8 inhibitors. People with haemophilia B and type 3 von Willebrand disorder could also develop inhibitors, though less frequently.

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From around 1968, Factor 8 concentrate was produced under the aegis of the Lister Institute at Elstree and Oxford and by the Blood Products Unit in Edinburgh (renamed the Protein Fractionation Centre in 1970).

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In his written evidence, Dr Winter identified a number of disadvantages to cryoprecipitate: including that it was less effective clinically than concentrate, it was laborious to reconstitute, it had to be stored in deep freeze and was therefore not suitable for home treatment; and it caused side effects.

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In their evidence to the Inquiry, the Medical Ethics Expert Panel noted that although the clinician should identify the clinical need for treatment of some kind, it is a fundamental ethical principle that the ultimate decision is for the patient to make.

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The Medical Ethics Expert Panel noted in its report to the Inquiry that there are exceptions where a patient is incapable of taking such a decision, whether because the patient lacks capacity, or they need emergency treatment and to seek active consent is unrealistic.

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In evidence to the Inquiry, the Medical Ethics Expert Panel confirmed that it is a fundamental ethical principle for a patient to be informed of the risks which are material and significant to them even if that means they might refuse a particular treatment.

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Sir Colin Walker, in the foreword to Dr Gunson's "Fifty Years of Blood Transfusion", said that the UK's blood supply was amongst the safest in the world but, even so, medical advice was always likely to be that the best transfusion was no transfusion.

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In a memo prepared by the medical officers of the Ministry of Health it was reported that 1,289 people employed in a shipbuilding yard in Bremen had developed jaundice after being vaccinated with glycerinated humanised lymph.

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The memo prepared by the medical officers of the Ministry of Health stated that any doubt as to the reality of the association of homologous serum jaundice and hepatitis was removed by the frequency with which hepatitis had followed the injection of human blood products.

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At a meeting of regional transfusion directors they confirmed that all RTCs were testing for the Australian antigen and antibody. Dr Maycock reported that although BPL had been testing all plasma received since November 1971, some dried plasma in central storage had not been tested and he would write to directors about arrangements for testing.

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At a meeting of regional transfusion directors it was reported that the Department of Health had distributed the report of the advisory group on testing for the presence of the Australia (hepatitis-associated) antigen and its antibody and that the Department had accepted the recommendation that all donations should be tested for the presence of the antigen.

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A journal article described studies which isolated what was previously known as serum hepatitis or the Australia antigen and said that the presence of the Australia antigen in thalassemia and haemophilia patients could be due to the virus being introduced by transfusions.

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A study discovered the Australia antigen in patients who received a large number of transfusions. Sera from patients with haemophilia were tested for the presence of the isoprecipitins.

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An article by Professor Cash discussed the original method of testing for the Australia antigen and noted that it lacked sensitivity, unlike the counter-current immunoelectro-osmophoresis technique which was 10-15 times more sensitive with a quicker results time.

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