Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on hepatitis E contracted through donated blood.

The United Kingdom health departments have jointly asked the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) to review the evidence base and provide advice on potential hepatitis E transmission through blood, cells, tissues and organs. SaBTO’s review is expected to be completed by summer 2015.