A scandal in UK’s 1970’s-80’s that killed 3,000 people and made 30,000 people’s lives hell on earth is finally exposed. After six years of tough and thorough investigation finally On Monday the report is released.
The scandal is ‘infected blood scandal’. This incident where 3000 people died and 30,000 people were infected via unknown ways of blood transfusions with HIV and hepatitis.
In the 1970s and 1980s many people got contaminated with tainted HIV and Hepatisis blood. It started with the Haemopholiacs people, who needed treatment to help blood clotting. These people were particularly affected by a new treatment called Factor VIII.
In the early 1970s, the UK’s NHS began using Factor VIII, considering it a revolutionary treatment. However, this decision later resulted in widespread infections. Factor VIII was made by pooling plasma from thousands of donors, so if just one donor was infected, the entire supply could be contaminated. As the demand for Factor VIII increased, the UK started importing it from the US. Unfortunately, much of the plasma in the US was sourced from high-risk donors, including prisoners and drug users who were paid for their donations. This practice significantly heightened the risk of contamination.
The damning inquiry revealed that over 30,000 individuals contracted diseases such as hepatitis and HIV from contaminated blood products, including Factor VIII. By the mid-1970s, it had become evident that haemophiliacs treated with Factor VIII faced a higher risk of contracting hepatitis. The World Health Organization (WHO) had cautioned as early as 1953 about the dangers of mixing plasma products and advised against importing plasma.
In the early 1980s, both haemophiliacs and blood transfusion recipients began to develop AIDS. Initially identified primarily among gay men, AIDS was first recognized in the early 1980s. Although HIV was not identified as the cause of AIDS until 1983, the UK government had been warned the previous year that the virus could be transmitted through blood products. Despite these warnings, no action was taken, and patients were not informed of the risks. Consequently, around 3,000 people lost their lives.
In the late 1980s, victims and their families sought compensation, claiming medical negligence. A charity was set up to offer one-time support payments to those with HIV. However, victims could get the money only if they agreed to waive their right to sue the Department of Health. This waiver also barred them from seeking compensation for hepatitis, despite later diagnoses of hepatitis C.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued an apology to the thousands affected by the contaminated blood scandal that has persisted for decades. Addressing the House of Commons, Sunak stated, “I am truly sorry,” and described the conclusions of the long-awaited report as “a day of shame for the British state.”
He emphasized that “time and again, people in positions of power and trust had the chance to stop the transmission of those infections and failed to do so.” Sunak vowed to provide compensation to the victims, regardless of the cost. The total compensation is anticipated to exceed 10 billion pounds ($12 billion).
