Dai Havard

Labour Party | Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney

vCJD - Blood & Cancer Patients

Dai Havard MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP has made a plea for urgent action to protect cancer patients and the blood supply, following an announcement this week (17 December) by Health Secretary John Reid MP.

The Minister’s statement on the use of blood followed the death of a man from vCJD who may have caught the disease through blood transfused from an infected donor.

“Any shortages of blood and questions about its safety could have particularly serious implications for cancer patients, who receive 30% of the nation’s bloodstocks.” Said the MP, who has been campaigning for greater use on blood alternatives.

He has called on both, the Westminster Secretary of State for Health, and the National Assembly for Wales, Health Minister, to ensure immediate changes in the way anaemia is treated in cancer patients.
 
“I welcome the actions being taken, but there is no need for a blood shortage or for many cancer patients to be exposed to any risks from blood, no matter how small!” Said Dai Havard.

“We can relieve any shortage of blood by using drug alternatives for cancer patients. We can reduce their risk of exposure to any possible risks from blood transfusions, and give many of them a better quality of care, whilst at the same time helping preserve blood for those that need it most.”

He said that blood should only be used where it is absolutely necessary and where no practical alternatives are available.  He went on to urge blood donors to come forward:

“My message is to give blood.  It is perfectly safe to do it, and we need it!”
He said that blood alternatives had been available for years: “But unfortunately it seems it has to take a ‘crisis statement’ to get the facts noticed.

Currently, in France, a cancer patient, with solid tumour, is six times more likely to be treated in this modern way, rather than by receiving a blood transfusion. In Spain, seven times, in Italy eight times, and American patients are 100 times more likely to receive such treatment.

In Europe and America, modern options are used as a matter of course. Other countries preserve their blood supplies for emergencies and surgery. If we are serious about getting our health services up to scratch with European standards this is the place to start, and we should just get on with it.

If an immediate good is to come from the tragedy suffered by this family it can be these immediate benefits to many cancer patients and the better use of a very precious commodity for life”.

Dai Havard MP has campaigned for the increased use of alternatives to blood such as Erythropoietins (EPO) in treating cancer related anaemia, since entering Parliament at the last election.  His constituency has the one of the highest levels of cancer in the United Kingdom.
 
Fatigue as a result of anaemia is recognised to be the most debilitating side effect of cancer treatment, more so than pain and nausea. More than 60% of cancer patients are likely to suffer from anaemia as a result of the condition itself or the treatment they receive.  Blood transfusions are commonly used to counter the anaemia.
UK Health Secretary, John Reid MP, has asked the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation (MSBT) to look again at further precautionary measures. They have so far stopped short of banning recipients of blood from donating blood, but it is an option that has been under consideration. Such a measure would reduce blood supply by up to 15%.

The possible introduction of a test for vCJD, which it is hoped will be available in the next couple of years, might also deter people from giving blood, and could reduce the number of blood donors by as much as half.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has agreed to look at the use of Erythropoietin in cancer patients although it is likely to be two years before any final recommendations are made.

The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, which advises the Health Minister of the National Assembly of Wales is also looking at the greater use of such alternatives. But as recently as December 2nd recommended that the greater use of EPO for cancer patients should await the NICE review. Dai Havard MP has challenged this and asked Jane Hutt AM the National Assembly Health Minister to immediately review this advice.