Current Petitions

PE1204, from Jessie Colson, on behalf of the Richard Colson Severe Aplastic Anemia Fund, calls on Parliament to urge the Government to recognise and promote the life-saving impacts that bone marrow testing and donation can have on people with life-threatening illnesses, and to provide adequate funding to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to support bone marrow services and encourage more donors.We have considered PE1204 at length on at least two previous occasions. Do members have any recommendations on how to deal with the petition?

When we last considered petition PE1204 in May, it was agreed that the Government would meet SNBTS, the Anthony Nolan Trust and the petitioner to discuss the issues. That meeting recently took place.

Committee members should have a note of that meeting, which took place in late August. The note is included as an additional paper. It does not affect the key point on which Bill Butler was about to express a view.

We could perhaps ask the Government whether timed action points have been agreed. People are looking for a positive response from the Government—a way forward and a timeframe for action. I do not think—unless the clerk is about to advise me differently—that the Government has provided timed action points. Perhaps we could write on that basis.

Do members have other views?

I accept Anne McLaughlin's point, but I think that that could be pulled together with a further explanation of two or three other points that came out of the meeting. I do not think that there is any disagreement on the issue.

I think that is the timescale for reaching the objective or destination, but it would be helpful to seek clarification about points along the way.

Okay. I thank members for their patience on that.