Doe v. Greater New York Blood Program

In Doe v. Greater New York Blood Program, 304 N.J. Super. 287, 700 A.2d 377 (App.Div.1997), plaintiff tested HIV-positive after receiving a blood transfusion from the Greater New York Blood Program in February 1982. It was not until seven years after plaintiff's transfusion that a screening revealed that the donor was HIV-positive. Defendant then performed a "look-back" and notified plaintiff of the problem. Defendant moved for summary judgment. The judge reviewed the experts' certifications and medical studies as well as various federal and state decisions addressing the question of whether blood banks had a duty to screen for HIV between 1982 and 1985. Id. at 296, 700 A.2d 377. The trial judge emphasized that as of August 1981 the CDC reported that transmission of the HIV virus was thought to occur through seminal fluid, not through blood products. Ibid. The judge also observed that "not one decision found a duty for a blood bank to high risk screen or surrogate test prior to March of 1983." Ibid. The Court agreed and affirmed the summary judgment on that point. However, the Court "parted company from" the judge with respect to whether the blood bank could be viewed as acting unreasonably when it failed to screen for other infectious diseases that might have resulted in rejection of the donor's blood, despite the fact that it may have "complied with all applicable professional standards of care, including existing federal and state regulations in January 1982." Id. at 298, 582 A.2d 307.