FEARS that haemophiliacs may have received blood contaminated with the human form of mad cow disease have prompted a hospital trust U-turn.

The Northern Echo disclosed last week that North-East haemophiliacs had been treated with blood products from a donor later diagnosed as a victim of variant CJD.

And the revelation that patients were being contacted to determine if they had been exposed to the treatment provoked nationwide concern yesterday.

Now a panel set up by Newcastle NHS Trust is to recommend that synthetic products, instead of plasma from human donors, are used to treat the region's haemophiliacs.

The trust had originally refused to switch to the synthetic, or recombinant, treatment but revealed the change in a meeting with members of the Haemophilia North group yesterday.

The panel concluded there was evidence that not all viruses were being eliminated from human plasma products and, although there was no evidence that vCJD could be transmitted through blood, recombinant treatment should be available to all patients.

Trust medical director Dr Mike Laker said: "We believe there is evidence to support the case for recombinant."

The panel will now recommend to the trust board that synthetic treatment be made available for all haemophiliacs, but it will be up to individual health authorities to agree the funding.

The Department of Health estimates that it would cost the health service an extra £30m to £40m to give recombinant to all haemophiliacs in England.

Dr Laker said about half of the 170 haemophiliacs who were receiving treatment when the affected products were in use, in 1997-8, have contacted the trust to find out if they received plasma from the vCJD victim.

A Haemophilia North spokeswoman welcomed the panel's decision to support the use of recombinant products.

She said: "It will take away a lot of the fears. At the moment, every time somebody injects themselves with treatment they worry that there are unknown viruses in there."

She said they would also be pressing the trust to support an inquiry into the scandal of contaminated blood, which has already infected many haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said Government ministers were looking at the possibility of funding recombinant treatment for haemophiliacs nationwide.