Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts(1) In a prescribed action against—
(a) a hospital or other body at whose premises blood supplied by the society, or a blood product derived from blood supplied by the society, is administered to a patient; or
(b) a doctor or a person acting on behalf of a doctor who administered to a patient, or authorised the administration to a patient of, blood supplied by the society or a blood product derived from blood supplied by the society;
it is a defence that—
(c) at the time the blood or blood product was administered, there was attached to the container in which the blood or blood product was contained a certificate purporting to be signed by the person in charge of the laboratory where a sample of the blood was tested and stating—
(i) for blood—that a sample of the blood; and
(ii) for a blood product—that a sample of each unit of blood from which the blood product was derived;
was tested, using approved equipment and in accordance with an approved method, to ascertain whether the blood contained any pathogen capable of causing the relevant transmittable disease and the result of the test was negative; or
(d) the society complied with the prescribed requirements, or caused the prescribed requirements to be complied with, in respect of the taking of the relevant blood and the testing, processing and handling of that blood or of blood products derived from that blood.
(2) The defence specified in subsection (1) is not available if it is established that—
(a) the hospital or other body, or the doctor or person acting on behalf of the doctor, was negligent in relation to the administering of the relevant blood or blood product to the patient; or
(b) the society was negligent in relation to the taking of the relevant blood or the testing, processing or handling of that blood or of a blood product derived from that blood;
and a transmittable disease was contracted as a result of that negligence, whether or not any other actions contributed to the contracting of that disease.