Creutzfeld-Jakob disease: the Grace General Hospital experience.

Abstract

After some patients were exposed to a blood product from a donor with Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, Winnipeg hospitals had to decide whether to inform them of the possibly minuscule health risk. The Salvation Army Grace Hospital decided to inform its patients, citing their fundamental right to facts regarding their own health; their need to make a responsible, informed decision regarding donation of their own blood or organs; and the need to maintain the trust and confidence of the public in the wake of the Krever inquiry.