The use of white blood cells from British blood donors is now banned. Instead, supplies are imported from abroad. The publication of the research letter in The Lancet raises several immediate issues. Surgical instruments used on known, or even suspected, human BSE patients must be destroyed, as the infectious agent is resistant to sterilisation. As Tony Barrett was not displaying symptoms of nvCJD at the time of his appendix removal, it is likely that the surgical apparatus used during his operation will have been used in other procedures, posing the risk of cross-contamination.
Similar dangers are present with other operations like corneal transplants.
More broadly, Labour's approach to BSE and its impact on human health has been a continuation of that taken by the previous Tory government. They have claimed that the danger is minimal and has largely passed. Now the possibility exists of determining the incidence of nvCJD in the human population. It is known that approximately half the British population has a genetic make-up that makes them susceptible to infection. This has posed the dilemma of how to proceed in the case of positive testing.