¥atharine Hamer
Contributing Writer

OF all the provinces,
B.C. will lose more
blood donors than most
because of its expatriate
population.

Last week, Canadian Blood
Services (CBS) announced that
@ beginning Sept. 30, it would
no longer accept donations
from people who have spent
six months or more in the
United Kingdom since 1980.

It was a decision made
@ amidst growing fears by Health

Canada about the possible
transmission of variant
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
(vCJD) — the human equiva-
lent of Bovine Spongiform
Encephalitis (BSE) or mad cow
disease.

Health experts-believe that
blood donors who have spent a
significant amount of time in
the U.K. could be potential
carriers of vCJD.

There have been no con-
firmed cases in North America
so far, but there have been
more than 40 cases in the U.K.
since BSE was first identified in
1986.

fhealth notes

NSHR NEARLY Y2K-
4 COMPLIANT: The North
a Shore Health Region has
j completed the review of
almost 2,500 picces of equip-
ment in preparation for the
Year 2000. ©
While hardware «7d soft-
ware upgrades conti::ue on
61 items, fewer than 30 items
actually need to be replaced.
The focus of the NSHR
has now been redirected to
contingency planning for any

m.issues which may arise on

‘January 1, 2000.

Staff have been advised
_that they may need to put in
extra hours ever and above
‘those usually — required
-around the Christmas/New

Year levels. °
The NSHR is also work-

ing with external vendors and
suppliers to ensure that an
appropriate aumber of sup-
plies are available during the
Y2K transition — avd liaising
with other health regions,
emergency programs and the
Ministry of Health.

. O00

INSURANCE POLICY
CHANGED: A precedent-
setting case conducted last
month by the B.C. Human
Rights Tribunal may change
the way insurers deal with
HIV-positive individuals and
their families.

A man known only as J
filed a complaint in 1994
alleging that London Life
Insurance Co. was discrimi-
nating against him in refusing

north shore news

HEALTH
lad cow disease affects hi

BSE is found primarily in
the spinal curd and brain tissue
of slaughtered animals — and
maraged to find its way into
the food chain in the U.K.
sometime in the 1980s.

The infection was a muta-
tion of scrapie, which affected
sheep whose remains were fed
to cattle as an inexpensive
alternative to their regular
food.

Symptoms of BSE in ani-
mals are similar to those found
in humans infected with vCJD,
and include severe weight loss,
loss of balanee, and loss of
memory.

him insurance services.

The man’s wife is HIV-
positive, but he tested nega-
tive for the AIDS virus.

The tribunal found that
London Life’s denial of
insurance services to the man
was without a bona fide rea-
son, and said the company
had failed to properly
research the man’s risk of
infection.

They were ordered to pay
him damages of $3,000.

B.C. Human — Rights
Commissioner Mary Woo-
Sims said that people who are
HIV-positive or living with
AIDS, and ‘their families,
should receive equal access to
services,

. aaQ0
B.C. CANCER AGENCY
LOOKING FOR VOLUN-

MPIPSUK ARM LARasae

STORE HOURS
MON TO FRI SAN TO SPM

The incubation period can
last up to 17 years, but once
the disease is activated, suffer-
ers usually die within a few
months.

The average age of those
affected by vCJD is 30.

There is no test for vCJD,
and because of the difficulty of
diagnosis, new cases are often
only discovered at the post-
mortem stage.

Precautions — including
the destruction of cattle herds
suspected of carrying the dis-
ease — have since been put in
place by British authorities, bur
Health Canada continues to

TEERS to participate in a
research study.

The study will assess the
effectiveness of soymilk as a
treatment for menopausal!
women who have a history of
breast cancer.

Healthy, non-smoking
volunteers who fit this cate-
gory and are not taking hor-
mone-replacement therapy
are asked to contact Angela at
877-6000, ext. 2392.

-- Katharine Hamer

Sunday, August 29, 1999 — North Shore News — 17

worry about the risk of trans-
mission by individuals who
may have been exposed to the
disease.

In B.C., because of the
large number of peopic of
British descent, the projected
level of donors who will no
longer be able to give blood is
3.9% — or roughly 1,550
donors annually.

Based on the assumption
that most people give blaod
twice a year, this means that
B.C. will lose 3,100 units of
blood annually.

The North Shore, with a
donor base of about 1,300

(

Ons

people, will likely lose around
30 donors as a result of the
deferral.

Ac this stage, said Clay
Adams of the North Shore
Health Region, surgeons at
Lions Gate Hospital remain
unconcerned about any serious
impact resulting from the loss
of donors.

However, CBS has
launched an aggressive recruit-
ment campaign to try and find
new donors to replace those
lost by Health Canada’s policy.

Donors should check with
CBS to sce if they are stil] eligi-
ble to give bluod.

DR. BART McROBERTS
DR. DEBRA ROVINELL
DR. CORINNE KNIGHT

DR. NANCY HARDIN
WEST VANCOUVER OPTOMETRY CLINIC

925-2525

1069 24th Street °
(24th & Haywood)

Saturday and evening appointments available.

Organic and Natural Food Store

* Produce ° Beef + Chicken:

“EB

Effective Dates Aug. 30 - Sept. 5/99 -

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3030 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver ; » w
rax: 987-6155

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