Canada: Red Cross Anger At Blood Plans

Canada's federal and provincial health ministers have said that a new agency is to be created over the next year to oversee the blood supply system. This follows the scandal concerning the distribution by the Red Cross of HIV and hepatitis-contaminated blood products.

Judge Horace Krever's inquiry into the scandal has been underway for two years and is still going on, with a final report not expected for several months. However, the ministers say the new agency might not include the Red Cross. Ontario Health Minister Jim Wilson said they had not yet decided what the Red Cross' role would be, and would have to discuss it with the federal government. Only Quebec says it would not be part of the new agency, preferring to set up its own system and simply collaborate with the agency.

The Canadian Red Cross says it is open to changes in the blood system but will not submit to government management of its operations. It is required by the mandate of the International Red Cross movement to remain independent of government, says Secretary-General Douglas Lindores.