April 2009 Board Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held on Tuesday 21st April 2009 at 2.00pm in the Boardroom, National Blood Centre, James's Street, Dublin 8.

Present: Ms. Maura McGrath (Chairperson)
Mr. Sean Wyse 
Mr. David Lowe 
Ms. Margaret Mullett
Mr. Gerry O'Dwyer
Ms. Jane O'Brien
Mr David Keenan
Dr Margaret Murray
Mr Mark Moran 
Dr. Cees Van Der Poel
Dr Mary Cahill 
Dr Robert Landers

Also in attendance: Mr. Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive
Dr. William Murphy, Medical &Scientific Director
Ms Mirenda O'Donovan Secretary to the Board

1. Minutes of the meeting of 17th February 2009

The minutes of the meeting of the Board of 17th February 2009 were agreed subject to amendment and proposed by Ms Jane O'Brien and seconded by Mr Sean Wyse.

2. Minutes of the special meeting of the Board on Friday 3rd April 2009

The minutes of the special meeting of the Board on Friday 3rd April 2009 were agreed subject to amendment and proposed by Mr David Lowe and seconded by Mr David Keenan.

3. Matters arising
vCJD
An options appraisal paper on prion filtration has been submitted to the 
DOH&C.

4. Chief Executive's Report 
Blood supply 
The blood supply for March was very good. Collections were higher than forecast and the issue of red cells increased in March by almost 10% The HSE is taking steps to address wastage in the hospitals.

Quality 
The IMB will inspect both the Cork Centre in May/June, there will also be an inspection of the tissue establishment on 22nd June and the NBC will be inspected in November, dates to be confirmed. The joint tender for blood bags has concluded and one bag selected has successfully completed validation, while the other one has failed. This process will realise significant savings for the IBTS.

MUH Transfer
The committee to oversee the transfer of crossmatch to the Mercy Hospital has been established. The transfer is expected to be completed by 1st September.

DPR Phase II 
This is proceeding on schedule with some operational issues being worked through.

BP & Pulse
The withdrawal of BP & pulse from clinics will commence in Tuam on 5th May.

Pension Scheme
The CE has written to the DoH&C seeking an urgent meeting to resolve this issue. The Board instructed the CE to proceed with the deductions as outlined in the letter from the DoH&C and agreed an approach on remitting the monies collected.

The Board approved a 10% deduction from Director's fees effective from 1st May.

Cork Centre - Development Update
The Steering Committee meets monthly. The tender specification for project management expertise is being finalised and an advertisement placed on the eTenders website by end of April.

Sale of plasma 
A survey has been carried out to assess donor attitudes to the sale of plasma which is currently discarded, to companies seeking to use it as control material in diagnostic equipment. The issue of donor consent was discussed and it was agreed that Dr van der Poel, Dr Murphy and Dr Cahill would meet the CE to progress this.

Donor Awards Ceremonies
The South East Donor Awards will take place on Sunday 26th April and the North East Donor Awards will take place on Sunday 14th June. The Committee reviewing the branding of IBTS is considering how Donor Awards Ceremonies contribute to the Brand. Revised proposals are expected from Cawley-Nea shortly and will be evaluated.

5. Presentation by Medical & Scientific Director

The Medical & Scientific Director gave a strategic overview of possible directions in the medical and scientific area. The Board thanked him for his detailed and informative presentation. After some discussion it was agreed that the Board would return to this item at the next meeting.

6. Research and Development in the IBTS - Strategic Options

It was agreed to defer this item to the next meeting.

7. Minutes of the Audit & Compliance Committee

The minutes of the Audit & Compliance Committee were taken as read. It was noted that the Comptroller & Auditor General's Office have delayed their annual audit, which will not now commence until the end of May.

8. Correspondence

There was no correspondence.

9. Date of next meeting

The next meeting of the Board will take place at the NBC on Tuesday 19th May at 2.00pm.