CAIRO: Some 200,000 polluted bags used to package donated blood, have been seized from the ministry of health's stores in connection with an ongoing scandal involving a member of parliament. A report that appeared in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm Sunday revealed that the blood bags and kidney-washing tools manufactured by Hidelina, a factory belonging to MP Hani Surur, did not abide by the required standards and specifications and, therefore, were not eligible for human use. The paper further alleged that the products were infected with bacteria and fungi likely to cause cancer and hepatitis. Surur, they claimed, was informed about nine basic defects in the products which resulted in their failure to obtain an ISO certificate - an international guarantee for the safety of distributing such heath items. Current investigations indicated that many Egyptian medical organizations had turned the bags down, but there were question marks about how the items had wormed their way back into the ministry's stores. The press reported that after using them with 13 blood donors, the doctors were shocked at the odd shape of the bags and how the donors were said to have suffered pains following the procedure. Al Gomhouriah daily's Jan. 8 edition reported that health minister Hatem Al Gabali, declared that the issue had come to the ministry's attention and was under investigation. He stressed that problem might not have been properly addressed because nothing in Egypt - not only medical appliances - is made according to specifications. Denying that there was any polluted blood in the hospitals, Al Gabali pointed out that the ministry had confiscated 240,000 bags, a precautionary measure that was taken six months before the prosecution issued its decision to seize more quantities. He clarified that the health ministry did not pay any money to the factory owner who has appealed to Parliament Speaker Ahmed Fathi Surur when prosecutors demanded lifting parliamentary immunity from him immediately. The press reported that Hani Surur would submit documents that will refute all accusations. Al Gabali said that the bags available at the ministry were approved by the Pharmaceutical Supervision Authority. Upon their use in public hospitals, however, faults in the bags' shapes and syringes raised doctors' suspicions, who reported the issue to the ministry, which, in turn, referred it to the National Blood Bank. The National Blood Bank's report clarified that the faults were in the bags and not the blood, which caused the ministry to ban their use in July 2006. At that time only 40,000 of the 330,000 bags at the ministry were supplied by that factory. Al Gabali kick-started an investigation to make sure hospitals that received the bags had not reported any cases of kidney failure or hepatitis. No cases were reported. On-going investigations continue to expose details of who was behind the deal.
