Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 October 2024
680. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if the health service tests for Lyme disease for all blood transfusions; the accuracy of the test for Lyme disease in these tests; and if there is a danger that a person in receipt of a blood transfusion with Lyme disease could acquire the disease. [41547/24]
View answerThe Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) does not test donations for Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent that causes Lyme Disease. The IBTS are not aware of any blood service that tests donations for the agent that causes Lyme disease.
There are no reports in the literature that suggest that Lyme disease has ever been transmitted by blood transfusion. If a donor has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, they will not be accepted to donate until they have completed a course of antibiotics for a minimum of one week and have made a complete recovery for a minimum of two weeks. A donor who knows that they have chronic Lyme disease will not be accepted to donate.
In 2022 the IBTS introduced a significant policy change by introducing Individual Donor Risk Assessment (IDRA) for all donors. IDRA has enabled the IBTS to ask the same health and lifestyle criteria questions to all existing and potential new donors rather than ask different questions to different sections of donors. This means that any deferrals are applied based on the donor’s individual specific risk profile. Donors with active Lyme disease, or recent exposure, are typically flagged during this screening.
As ever, the IBTS will keep developments in this area under active review, and will continue to utilise the best medical and scientific evidence available to ensure the ongoing safety of blood and the products derived from it.
