Thirty years ago, the tainted blood trial began. Between 1984 and 1985, several thousand people, mainly hemophiliacs, contracted the HIV virus (responsible for AIDS) or VCH (responsible for hepatitis C) because they had received contaminated blood bags. Since then, protocols have been put in place to avoid this type of contamination. Explanations with Christophe Bésiers, director of theFrench Blood Establishment (EFS) in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.
The birth of the current system
Following this awareness, in the 1990s, the French blood donation system begins a metamorphosis. First with more control explains Christophe Bésiers, director of the French Blood Establishment (EFS) in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: “We establish a relationship of trust between the donor and us with this questionnaire that everyone fills out before each donation. There is then an interview, then each donation is checked.” More than 50 parameters are taken into account for this control and adapted according to scientific advances with one objective: to detect potential infections as early as possible.
Following several laws, a centralized control system was created: _”this system starts from our health police, the ANSM (_The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products, editor’s note) who has a monitoring role to whom we must report any incident”, specifies Christophe Bésiers. This organization is in contact with regional coordinators, this “mesh” as Christophe Bésiers calls it, allows harmonization. “It is due to the fact that the French Blood Establishment, a single establishment, can communicate with all the regions, which was not the case in the 1990s since the establishments were regional”concludes Christophe Bésiers.
What you must remember
- 1981: the first AIDS patients are detected.
- 1984: we discover that if we heat the blood, the virus is deactivated. But unheated blood continues to be distributed in France.
- 1985: from August, screening is mandatory for donors.
- 1991: in the press, it is discovered that contaminated blood was transfused
- June 1992: trial of four doctors, who knew
- 1999: three ministers are tried for manslaughter
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