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Five pharmaceutical companies in the US were chosen to manufacture AIDS blood tests.

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Professor Weiss wrote an article on AIDS in Nature, which stated that there was no longer any doubt that AIDS was caused by an infectious agent and emphasised that ELISA screening tests for blood supplies were "urgently needed".

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Dr Gunson reported that a HTLV-3 test produced by Dr Tedder and Professor Weiss would be available within the foreseeable future and the Blood Transfusion Service had agreed at a meeting with Dr Tedder that it would start appraisal of their test as soon as possible. Dr Gunson also anticipated that a major decision to proceed to routine screening of all blood would be required.

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Professor Tedder stated that various UK HIV tests were available by mid July 1984. However, though these were in used in laboratories, there was little widespread knowledge of this at the time.

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Professor Tedder stated he aimed to produce a competitive test that was one step instead of two.

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Professor Tedder told the Inquiry that despite being advised differently, Porton Down decided to develop an antigen using an alternative and unsuccessful method.

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In a letter from Dr Fraser to Dr Smithies, it was stated that a screening test for AIDS would likely be available within the next 8 weeks and the implications of instituting a testing regime suggested there was an urgent need for a working party on AIDS.

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At a Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service meeting, directors proposed a UK-wide working group on AIDS and said that such a group should be encouraged to mount donor screening studies.

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In a letter to the Scottish Home and Health Department, Dr Cash conveyed the views of Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service directors that there should be a UK-wide working group on blood transfusion and AIDs.

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In an internal minute within the Department of Health and Social Security, Dr Smithies called for an invited group of experts to plan ahead to give guidance to health authorities about the consequences of being able to screen for AIDS. It was planned to start screening all blood donors at the North London RTC in October 1984.

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A paper was produced by the Department of Health and Social Security titled "Aids Immune Deficiency Syndrome [AIDS] - Current Developments". It highlighted that fewer than 20% of patients had survived more than 2 years after AIDS had been diagnosed, that the number suffering was expected to double within 6 months, and the importance of a screening test for the UK National Blood Transfusion Service.

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At the internal Department of Health and Social Security meeting, it was agreed that ministers should be made aware of the screening of all donors at the North West London RTC, proposed to start in October, the need for funding to scale up the production of the test reagent, and the further need to set up a working group.

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In a briefing note, Lord Glenarthur wrote that the UK HTLV-3 screening test developed by Dr Weiss and Dr Tedder was regarded as more sensitive, specific, and possibly more reliable than other tests available in the US.

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Abbott, Litton, DuPont, Travenol-Genetech Diagnostics and Electronuecelonics were selected by the US Public Health Service to develop tests for AIDS and were provided with Dr Gallo's cell line.

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A test for HTLV-3 antibodies produced by Abbott was licensed for use by the Food and Drug Administration in the US. National implementation was expected within 2-6 weeks.

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Very quickly after the Gallo tests became available, a number of European countries and Australia announced the start of universal screening of blood donations.

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Lord Glenarthur decided the cost of AIDS screening should be met from the existing budgets of regional health authorities. Lord Glenarthur was also briefed that there were numerous medical and ethical implications of such testing which were due to be examined by a working group on AIDS.

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Lord Glenarthur queried whether all blood was being screened for AIDS and asked when the UK would be able to do this.

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An article titled "Panic and the blood" was published in The Guardian, which argued that the UK's response to the AIDS crisis was too slow.

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When Dr Acheson became Chief Medical Officer, he decided the implications of HIV/AIDS were serious and that he should seek expert advice as soon as possible.

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