The price charged by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) for units of blood collected from voluntary donors has increased almost threefold over the past five years from just over €80 in 1998 to €223 last year.
The increase was described as colossal at a meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee yesterday. Mr Paul Connaughton TD said the increase was so unusual it could be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
The blood bank's acting chief executive, Mr Andrew Kelly, who was before the committee on foot of concerns raised about its financial management in a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General, said the substantial increases had been approved by the Department of Health.
They had been necessary to pay for costs incurred by the blood bank, which is largely self-financing, in implementing new blood-testing procedures.
Hospitals are billed by the blood bank for every unit of blood they use. In 1998 they were charged €80.18 per unit; in 1999 the charge was €119.36; in 2000 it was €121.74; in 2001 they were charged €152.79; and in 2002 the charge was €223.07. Each unit is slightly less than a pint.
Mr Paul Barron, assistant secretary at the Department of Health, told the committee the substantial price increases had been a source of concern to the department because of the knock-on effect it had on hospital budgets.
"I am pleased to say, however, that the board has agreed to a price freeze for 2003 and this will be of assistance to hospitals in the tighter financial environment that now prevails," he said.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, told the committee the blood bank had been consistently in the news in recent years "for all the wrong reasons", ranging from the hepatitis C scandal to controversy over its blood-testing locations.
The fallout from the tribunals in which it was involved had affected its finances and led to "a high attrition rate among senior managers".
His report found that a new computerised system for the Irish Blood Transfusion Service is three years late and will cost twice as much as expected.
The system, called the Progresa Project, was begun in 1998. The project was budgeted at €4.26 million and was due to be implemented by late 1999. However, the current final cost of the project is a projected €9.04 million and the scheme is not expected to be fully implemented until next month.
The committee heard that several problems arose with the system, installed by a French company. One problem with its software cost the blood bank €524,000 and the manufacturing company refused to pay for it.
Mr Kelly said the IBTS considered lodging a claim against the company to recoup the cost, but it would have had to do this in the French courts and could have been years waiting for a hearing. The company would then have withdrawn support for the system, causing further delays in its implementation.
Furthermore, the Lindsay tribunal cost the IBTS €7.4 million in legal fees and it was still waiting for them to be reimbursed.