Wednesday, October 21, 1998 Blood test wasn’t new Peninsula News Review ‘> on Thiel has a vested r@ interest in the Cana- gue. The Saanichton resident. contracted hepatitis C during _ablood fransfusion while un- dergoing- heart. bypass surgery in 1983. : Like thousands of other ‘Canadians, that: date leaves~ Thiel out of the loop for: fed- ae “eral compensation. ..: Federal : Health Minister ‘ Allan Rock forwarded a.mo- . “tion to.the House of Com- - mons that only those victims - “who were ‘infected with: tainted blood. between ; th Thecotp 1986 an 9 A dian tainted. blood i is: oped in 1958. In 1959 it was known that high ALT scores in donated. - blood were assosicated with - post-transfusion . hepatitis ‘showing up in blood recipi- ents. : While at the time it was be ing used to test for hepatitis A -and B, by 1975 it was known that ALT testing was effective . for determining. non-A: and “non-B hepatitis (now known as hep C). Ina subsequent fax trans- mission: from her home in » Ontario, Brill-Edwards says: that “governments have failed in their duties — along with the Red. Cross and leo, corporations.” a et Lee Torgalson - Peninsula News Review What do Bill Clinton, the Canadian tainted blood issue, and prisoners in an Arkansas jail have in common? If the public knew, it would blow the Monica Lewinsky deba- cle right off the front pages of every newspaper in the U.S. and Canada, said Ron Thiel, member of the Hep C Society on lower Vancouver Island. “T don’t know why this isn’t getting more coverage. It's ab- solutely unbelievable,” he said. Thiel, a Saanichton resident, was referring to recent publica- tion of a book titled Blvod Trail, the fictional story of an Arkansas governor en route to the White House who profits from selling tainted blood to Canada and later works to cover it up. The blood was gathered from inmates at an Arkansas jail. Although fiction, Thiel believes the book is so close to the truth — based on circumstantial evidence — that it’s scary, he said adding that, while many others in the society agree with him, he is speaking on his own behalf. “It is known that Clinton was governor of Arkansas at the time, and that his personal friend was Leonard Dunn, who was presi- dent of Health Management Associates (HMA). HMA was re- _- sponsible for gathering the blood products from prisoners,” he said. But Jim Kennedy, member of the White House Counsel in -..Washington, D.C. told The Review Friday that, while “President Clinton has been accused of a lot of things during his term, this one has to be the most outlandish.” Responding to Blood Trail author Michael Galster’s allegation that President Clinton was familiar with the inside workings of said. “I'm ‘not even’ going to. dignify.that allegation with are ~ sponse,” he said. ._ insane, but that’s the line the author of Blood Trail has taken. uments obtained from State Patrol records into an enquiry later ‘prisoners.and sold to Montreal blood broker in 80s, Sent An, this “muchis known. ©” oe --> HMA is the: ‘Arkansas ‘frm contracted on Clinton’ Ss ‘state ad : ministration to provide medical care to. prisoners in the 1980s... HIV and hepatitis C per capita than the general population. - arate blood products had stopped purchasing prisoners "blood fol- . Jowing a meeting with the U.S. Federal Drug Agency, by Canadian Justice Horace Krever that s some limited aspects of us g protests in Ottawa and the prison blood fiasco began to emerge. wherever else federal. gov- ernment: ministers might be : The. test in question: is meeting. This: has” to. fper : “ealed ALT, and it it was devel ae changed,” he said. from high-risk prisoners at the Arkansas state prison and sold to avon blood broker ee one Pharma) who, i in turn, sold Th Gipovaiien of the of Contral Sazinich PUBLIC NOTICE Open House and Information Display _ ADAM KERR PARK | MANAGEMENT OPTIONS © October 22, 1998 ° 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Keating Elementary School, 6843 Central Saanich Road — AS a result al ¢ subdivision process, a New park is going to bo developed al thée’southwaest corer of Keating Crass Road and, Central Saanich Road. Public comment is -being sought on three management options. Two, af the - options would see the park dasignated:as a Nature Area, a, category that otf provides proloatian for natural and sconic rosourcas. and allows anaroa to), “remain undeveloped inordar to preserve its natural qualities, A third option | would see tha park designated as a Nalghbourhood Fark, .a category that can | provide for conservation, and also. active racroation {aclliies such, asa fof » ohildran's play area or sports field, ae | District Parks’ st iaff_ will be in attendance: to answer questions, The public will ~~ also have.an opportuntly to t tulk with local.architect Arthur. James Finlayson... why has pray G onceptual akelonas for Adam, ort Park, he District ; . Ede t oe F a aa: ne Reve Been a rh te tp a i A ha a he tab eth Mead HAR tag» on cote ee mse eh radhon nhs sho ace lb Aint pi wih why thevetthersithons he ano non-profit: prices > “HOME PORT LIOUSING SOLIETY PRISENIS. ES __ PENINSULA NEWS REVIEW 3 it to Canadian-based — | Connaught laborato- ries. Connaught, appar- § ently’. unaware — of where the product had been obtained, unwit- tingly. supplied the Canadian Red Cross with tainted plasma that went on to infect hundreds of hemo-. g philiacs, Mark -} Kennedy reports. President Bill Clinton . SOUFCES say story is ludicrous’ Ron Thiel ... To worsen things, says more in- Connaught had earlier . . “decided it was “im- vestigation practicable” to inspect into tainted all plasma collection . sites and relied on re- blood ts ports from the Fed- ‘needed eral Drug Administra- tion. Those reports were obtained, but never reviewed. In June of 1983,-HMA revealed to the FDA that 38 units of plasma collected earlier that year had come from inmates. Word trickled down about the infected blood product, but Con- naught wasn’t informed until August 19. By then, it was too late. Connaught had mixed the plasma with huge pools of other units. The Canadian Red Cross.was already in receipt of 2,409 vials. of blood product made, in part, from the prisoners’ plasma. Four days after they learned the truth, Connaught informed. the Red Cross, but the product had already been sent out to sev- ~eralcentres. -. Although. officials scrambled to pull the pr oduct from the ==. -.’ shelves, only 417 vials were recovered. Soon after, another warning from HMA. about potentially i im fe fected plasma went out. Again, it was too late and only 27 of 1 968. has vials were collected. | naught, but by then it was tantamount to. “el er the horse got loose,” Thiel said.” “Thousands of people were already infected,” 9 he gaid “‘Tthitsa little too ‘close to home: !’ di say.” are But Jim Kennedy (Whitehouse Counsel), who admits he’ $ not. aware of the sequence of events that have traced some tainted blood product back to Arkansas at the time Clinton was governor, said he’s not ina position to comment on those facts. “T don't.wish to comment on an issue of which I'm not aware. of the details,” he said, » Housing for = 7 - Seniors ir V “> security ‘and ersorial safety ; > pepe ee > recreation’& social. tie > meal services eee ife lease +: morey| back: guarantee,” e Over! 50% sold! : For more info rman 65206463 otal ae “The Red Cross subsequently canceled its contract with Con- Pog cae osing, the barn door Le iced “Blood Trail: may seem far-fetched by some; but scratch. the. surface and there’s a lot to it." The book’ details the fictitious cover-” : ups meant to protect. the Arkansas governor, so I'm not surprised . “they (the RCMP) don’t seem to be getting anywhere,” he said. And with Bill Clinton having close ties to the HMA when the -. tainted blood was Sold to Canada, Blood, Trail may. not be sO far 7 off, Thiel added. ee LA —