The House of Representatives is set to launch an investigation into whether the Health and Welfare Ministry is to blame for people contracting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after receiving imported dura mater during transplants, Lower House members said Friday.
The move is seen as a response to complaints by lawyers representing a group of CJD patients that the ministry delayed recalling dura mater -- the fibrous membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord -- despite knowing for years of a link between dura mater and CJD.
The Lower House began a preliminary investigation into the case in April, but the June 2 dissolution of the chamber forced it to be suspended. A group of 66 opposition party members requested that the investigation be resumed.