The Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS) discussed its concerns about the possibility of members contracting AIDS from imported blood products as far back as 1983, the tribunal was told yesterday.
Despite its concerns, the BTSB continued to import much more blood clotting agent than it produced.
The society's present chief executive, Mr Brian O'Mahony, spoke to the senior technical officer with the BTSB, Mr Sean Hanratty, now deceased, about the committee's concerns that Irish haemophiliacs would be infected with AIDS from imported blood products in May 1983.
In documents opened to the tribunal yesterday, details of a consultation between Mr O'Mahony and Mr Hanratty are recorded. Mr O'Mahony asked him if there was any reason why haemophiliacs couldn't use only Irish blood products.
Mr Hanratty said the BTSB had no problem supplying factor 9 for people with haemophilia type B and he said work on developing a factor 8 product in the Republic for haemophilia type A patients was progressing slowly.
Mr Hanratty said he saw no reason why the needs of Irish haemophiliacs should not be met totally by Irish products, which would reduce the risk of them contracting AIDS. He agreed American blood products posed a greater risk because donors were paid for their blood in the US.
The BTSB official added the IHS should communicate its misgivings to Prof Ian Temperley, director of the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre, but not quote him on the matter. Then it should get back to him, he advised.
Dr Emer Lawlor, on her second day giving evidence on behalf of the BTSB, acknowledged there was serious concern about AIDS at the time and the BTSB considered issuing a leaflet for donors to advise those belonging to certain groups not to donate blood.
Mr Finlay produced an Irish Times article published in May 1983 with the headline "Effort to halt lethal AIDS disease starts", which quoted Prof Temperley and the then director of the BTSB, the late Dr Jack O'Riordan, on how they planned to exclude persons of certain sexual orientations from donating blood.
Dr Lawlor said there was no suggestion at this time that haemophiliacs revert to cryoprecipitate, a home-produced product, instead of using the imported factor 8 but "it could have been done I think", she said.
She added while there were risks with the imported blood products, the haemophilia community wished to continue using them.
In July 1983, minutes of a board meeting of the BTSB recorded that its director, Dr O'Riordan, had said there was "an element of risk" attached to the continued use of imported factor 8.
Asked by counsel if there were records to show this was how haemophiliacs felt, she said she had not found any in the files.