Добавить новость
smi24.net
News in English
Май
2024

From boy, 7, killed by AIDS to woman’s life destroyed by Hepatitis C, tragic stories of infected blood scandal victims

0

THE families of the blood scandal victims told yesterday how their loved ones had been robbed of life — and those responsible should be punished.

One, tiny Colin Smith, had been infected with HIV and hepatitis C during a medical procedure when he was just ten months old.

Huw Evans
Colin Smith was infected with HIV and hepatitis C during a medical procedure when he was 10 months old[/caption]
Huw Evans
Colin developed AIDS and tragically died aged seven in 1990[/caption]
Parents Janet and Colin with a suitcase full of their tragic son Colin’s treasured possessions, including his blanket

He developed Aids and tragically died in 1990 aged seven, weighing just 13lbs.

His father, also called Colin, and mum Janet told how they tried in vain to get help for their critically ill son.

They said his doctor told them the boy had a “vivid imagination” when he complained of chest pains.

Janet said: “They had us down as overprotective parents but we knew our son, we knew he was suffering. He had AIDS but they kept it from us.

“We had ‘AIDS dead’ written on the side of the house, we had crosses scraped into the front door and we were getting phone calls saying he should be ‘locked in a room’.”

The couple, from Newport, South Wales, have a suitcase full of their son’s toys and drawings.

Janet pulls out a blue blanket and holds it close to her face, telling Sky News: “It still smells of him. This is the blanket he was wrapped in when he died.”

Demands are now growing for criminal prosecutions following decades of cover-ups after 30,000 were infected with contaminated blood — killing more than 3,000.

The public inquiry by Sir Brian Langstaff found that people “put their faith in doctors and in the Government . . . and their trust was betrayed”. 

Experts knew from at least 1973 that using blood from paid donors increased the risk of disease transmission.

However they went ahead anyway, and still used contaminated products well into the 1980s.

Colin said: “A few sources are saying there’s a possibility of criminal charges.

“I’m hoping that’s right. I’m hoping there’s a few people out there who are sweating now because it’s coming to a climax.

“There’s a lot of anger there. I look at my other sons and their kids and think about what [Colin Jr] was robbed of.”

He added: “I should have more grandchildren, I should have another daughter-in-law, I should be able to go for a drink with him.

There’s a lot of anger there. I look at my other sons and their kids and think about what he was robbed of

Father Colin

‘Taken away’

“All that was taken away, and that won’t be forgiven even after this. We went to so many funerals that we stopped going.”

Des Collins, of Collins Solicitors, representing nearly 1,500 families, said the NHS Trust which employed haemophilia expert Professor Arthur Bloom – heavily criticised in the report – should refer itself to the CPS.

Prof Bloom, who died in 1992, ran the Cardiff Haemophilia Centre and continued treating patients including Colin Smith with infected blood products despite knowing the huge risks of HIV and Hepatitis C.

Mr Collins said: “It is entirely possible the CPS may consider it now has sufficient grounds to begin its own investigation. There is certainly an appetite for this level of accountability within the infected blood community.”

There are doctors out there who should have been prosecuted for manslaughter

Clive Smith, a criminal barrister and campaigner for The Haemophilia Society

The inquiry heard heartwrenching evidence from dozens of people affected. Mark Ward, 55, infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood, wants those responsible to face justice.

Mark Ward, 55, born with severe haemophilia and infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood, wants those responsible to face justice.

Sir Brian’s report highlighted how the scandal could and should have been prevented.

The treatments were mostly given to replace blood-clotting proteins in patients with haemophilia, who were at risk of serious bleeding from minor injuries.

Britain could not produce enough blood products so continued to import from America until the mid-1980s — years after they had been linked to Aids.

Convicts were paid to donate but their blood had high rates of hepatitis C and HIV, with just a fraction of a millilitre enough to infect. Gung-ho UK doctors did not tell patients of the risks, lied to them, or even injected them without telling them.

The report said: “There was a lack of urgency when it came to patient safety. The risks of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections were downplayed or ignored.”

THE NINE KEY FINDINGS

1. HEALTH EXPERTS KNEW RISKS: Dangers of making blood treatments from large groups of people and paid donors, such as prisoners and drug users, who are at higher risk of viruses, were known very early on.

2. SCANDAL COVERED UP: Politicians, civil servants and doctors slow to act on warnings and even lied or hid the truth about the risks.

3. DISASTER AVOIDABLE: If warnings were heeded then infections, illnesses and deaths could have been avoided. Doctors should have used fewer treatments and the NHS could have used only UK-made products.

4. CHILDREN EXPERIMENTED ON: Kids — particularly boys at Treloar’s boarding school, Hants — were involved in experimental studies of clotting treatments.

They were often given them without parental consent or full risk explanation. Many later became ill and died.

5. MINISTERS’ LACK OF HONESTY: Successive governments told the public that patients were given the best treatment available at the time. This was not true.

6.  IMPACT COULD BE LARGER: Report said the true scale of infection and disease is still not known. Estimates suggest the real number affected could be around 40,000 or higher.

7. DELAYS MADE SUFFERING WORSE: Victims and families endured “compounded” suffering because it has taken so long to see action. Compensation delays mean many have struggled or died without ever getting a payout.

8. DEFENSIVE CULTURE DELAYED ACTION: Doctors were allowed to continue using the treatments because ministers were too afraid to challenge them or withdraw the products.

9. UK BEHIND THE CURVE: Britain continued using risky blood products longer than other major countries.

Some 23 nations began screening for hepatitis C before the UK, which continued to use prisoners’ blood for longer than the US, where it was shipped from.

‘Pervasive and chilling’

Medics later chose not to reveal the truth due to “the cost and effort . . . and embarrassment”.

Clive Smith, a criminal barrister and campaigner for The Haemophilia Society, said: “There are doctors out there who should have been prosecuted for manslaughter.

“Doctors who were testing their patients for HIV without consent, not telling them about their infections, who then went on to sadly infect their partners and they then went on to die.”

Jason Evans, of the Factor 8 campaign group, said “a lot of the villains” in the scandal have died. 

He added: “The Government did not launch a public inquiry when it should have happened, probably in the 90s.”

Huge 'sense of relief' that victims finally heard

By Julia Atherley, Home Affairs Correspondent

THE survivors and families of victims of the contaminated blood scandal have fought for decades for justice.

When Sir Brian Langstaff took to the stage at the Inquiry this afternoon the atmosphere was charged with a sense of relief that they had finally been listened to.

Filling Westminster Central Hall, the audience applauded the Inquiry Chair before he urged them to stop and said: “You are actually applauding the wrong people.

“The words come from you, and your stories.

“I want you please in a moment to give me an applause, a longer one if you will, to those who are really responsible for those that in this report.

“Look to the right, look to your left look in front.

“Those of you who can, turn and look behind you. Those are the people who have written this report.”

Flooding out of the hall after the landmark report was published, campaigners hugged each other and clung to pictures of their loved ones who died after being treated with infected blood.

After years of calling for a public inquiry into how the victims were treated they finally had their answers.

They spoke of feeling vindicated after the report concluded that the NHS and the Government conducted a “chilling” cover-up for decades thousands suffered.

The inquiry found that successive governments feared opening the floodgates for compensation.

Documents which should have been “accessible and recoverable” were also deliberately destroyed.

It called the cover-up “subtle, pervasive and chilling” and added: “There has been a hiding of much of the truth.”

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said there was “potential for corporate manslaughter charges against Whitehall departments”.

  • Additional reporting: Andy Robinson, Alice Fuller, Jack Elsom and Martina Bet

TIMELINE OF A SCANDAL

1970: Doctors in the UK start using treatments made from blood of paid donors, including inmates in US prisons.

1970s: Studies under way at Treloar boarding school in Hampshire to test the treatments on pupils, often without the consent of their parents.

1973: Experts realise commercially produced treatment is riskier than those from NHS donors

1973: UK discusses the risks of using blood from prisoners — but decides to ­continue with it.

1977: Cases of hepatitis at Treloar are linked back to the treatments.

1981: Aids first begins to be diagnosed in the United States.

1981: Factor 8 blood treatment linked to higher risk of hepatitis.

1983: A UK haemophilia patient dies of Aids for the first time.

1983: A medical journal warns blood ­clotting products may be linked to Aids.

1983: The United States makes move to stop using high-risk plasma — but the UK keeps importing it.

1984: Aids is proven to be caused by the HIV virus.

1984: Use of blood collected from prisoners is finally stopped in the UK.

1984: It is accepted as a “near certainty” that blood products can cause Aids.

1985: Thirty-seven Treloar pupils test ­positive for HIV, which is linked to the treatment that they received.

1987: Government launches the Macfarlane Trust to make payments to people with haemophilia who had been infected with HIV from NHS-supplied blood products. The charity initially received £10million for payouts and a further £19million grant was made after two years.

1988: Around 1,000 haemophiliacs who had been infected with HIV by transfusions or blood products sued the Government, but cases were settled out of court.

1989: Hepatitis C, a previously unknown strain, identified for the first time.

LATE 1980s / EARLY 1990s: Contaminated blood clotting products still being used.

1991: The first test for hepatitis C is made available for use.

2003: The first financial support is offered to victims by the Government.

2007: The privately funded Sandwell Inquiry begins. It was completed in 2009, concluding that the use of contaminated blood products to treat patients with haemophilia was a “horrific human tragedy”.

2017: The Infected Blood Inquiry is launched by then-PM Theresa May.

MAY 2024: Sir Brian Langstaff publishes the inquiry report, revealing decades-long “chilling” cover-up and NHS failings.

Huw Evans
Colin’s father, also called Colin, and mum Janet told how they tried in vain to get help for their critically ill son[/caption]

CASE OF JANICE WHITEHORN

By Andy Robinson

JANICE Whitehorn contracted hepatitis C from her mum when she was born — but did not find out she had it until she was 36.

Supplied
Janice Whitehorn contracted hepatitis C when she was born, after her mum Daphne received a blood transfusion during a kidney transplant[/caption]

Her mother, Daphne, became infected from a blood transfusion during a kidney transplant in 1973.

Janice, now 45, says she is lucky because others died without ever knowing they were infected.

But the wedding dress maker said the treatment she received destroyed her womb and plunged her into early menopause

Janice, of Houghton Regis, Beds, said: “I was worried the inquiry would be a let down as we’ve been let down so much — but it’s a really good report. 

“The main thing is it proves the Government was covering it up and lying about it.

“We felt silly like our voices weren’t heard for so long but now people will finally believe us. It won’t repair my lack of trust in the system because this has showed me the people I’m meant to trust are liars.”

CASE OF GENE DAVID

By Andy Robinson

DECORATOR Gene David found out he had HIV in 1989 — four years after a blood transfusion while having his tonsils removed.

Gene David
Gene David found out he had HIV four years after a blood transfusion while having his tonsils removed[/caption]

Gene, 20 at the time and now 58, was refused medication and given just six to 18 months to live.

He said of the horrific revelation: “Life just stopped. I was lucky in a sense, being young and carefree, but I went off the rails and was living like they were my last moments.

“When I look at old pictures of myself, I think that man died because my whole life was destroyed.”

Thanks to lifesaving treatment Gene, from Manchester, survived and was able to give evidence to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

He said that seeing the report published yesterday had been “very emotional” for him.

He added: “There’s a long way to go yet for justice but it feels like finally someone has asked the right questions and dug into the truth.”

CASE OF SHEILA DAVIES

By Sam Blanchard

OLYMPIC swimmer Sharron Davies described how her mum suffered for decades after being given contaminated blood during a transfusion.

Apex
Sharron Davies’ mum Sheila developed hepatitis C after being infected during a gallbladder operation[/caption]

Her mum Sheila developed hepatitis C after being infected during a gallbladder operation in the 1970s.

She went on to develop liver cancer, which can be caused by cirrhosis and scarring from hepatitis.

Sheila died in 2017, aged 78, but Sharron said she was given no help during her illness.

The former athlete said: “It’s very frustrating because I’m sure Mum would still be here today had it not been for this.”

She blasted the Government during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning.

Sharron said: “Other countries managed to get convictions against drug companies. We are the last in the world to sort this problem out.

“This is happening scandal after scandal, and it must stop. We have to start dealing with our mistakes.”

CASE OF GARY WEBSTER

By Sam Blanchard

GARY Webster is one of just 30 ­surviving boys out of 122 who were given infected blood products at a boarding school.

Gary Webster was infected with Hepatitis B, C and HIV

He wept as he told the inquiry how he felt guilty for being spared when many of his childhood pals had died.

The report into the scandal found that kids at specialist school, ­Treloar’s College, Hants, were “regarded as objects of research”.

It also ruled that staff at the school’s on-site NHS clinic were “well aware” of the risks involved.

Gary, 59, of Southampton, who was infected with Hepatitis B, C and HIV, said: “We were exploited as children.

“We didn’t know it at the time but we were guinea pigs. We looked up to the doctors treating us but we were used as lab rats and so many died.”

Pupils with haemophilia often missed chunks of school. They were sent to Treloar’s as it had its own NHS treatment centre and gave them the chance of a normal life.








Marins Park Hotel Нижний Новгород – партнёр фестиваля «ПАРИ ФЕСТ 2025»

Российский рэпер сжег кабриолет BMW прямо на сцене

Охранник из аэропорта Внуково стал моделью

Гастроэнтеролог Садыков: аппендицит из-за семечек арбуза или шелухи подсолнуха — миф


Man Utd have agreed deal with AC Milan for £40m star's exit, await player decision - report

Cameroon star has said yes to Man Utd transfer but Red Devils face hurdle

Report: AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic set to team up with $87 million Manchester United star

OpenAI launches GPT-5, its most powerful AI yet—will it be enough to stay ahead in today’s ruthless AI race? 


Добро в каждой чашке: Елизавета Боярская, фонд «Жизнь в Движении» и сеть кофеен «Ягода» запускают авторский кофе для помощи детям с ОВЗ

Два года с конфискацией "Гелика"

В Петербурге центр города и Лахтинскую гавань связали водными круизами

«Мысли» под прицелом: нейросетевые прорывы России — новый вызов кибербезопасности?


Steam for Chromebooks is getting axed in 2026 instead of exiting its 4-year beta

Находи идеальные места для персонажей-фигурок в «Is This Seat Taken?»

Mafia: The Old Country получила положительные оценки в Steam

The US Air Force wants to test blowing up Cybertrucks because 'it is likely the type of vehicles used by the enemy may transition to Tesla Cyber trucks'


Овочі можусть стати розкішшю для українців


«Бежим за Мечту — Ходить»: подростки на протезах пробегут марафон в Екатеринбурге

Метод Эффеком: Как перевернуть правила игры с помощью знаний

Команда «Буран» одержала победу на «Архипелаге 2025»

Овчинский: работы нулевого цикла завершают в доме в Алексеевском районе


Мария Багреева: начался прием заявок на конкурс «Лидеры закупок Москвы»

Собянин: сбиты ещё три беспилотника, летевших на Москву

Героическое участие армян в СВО. Часть шестнадцатая

«Бежим за Мечту — Ходить»: подростки на протезах пробегут марафон в Екатеринбурге


Ультракороткофокусный лазерный проектор Hisense Smart Laser Cinema PT1 – теперь в России

Индекс RGBI достиг максимума с февраля, Мосбиржа активно растет на фоне новостей

Владимир Ефимов: C начала года город утвердил 10 ППТ для строительства более восьми тысяч квадратных метров недвижимости

Дегтярёв привёл в пример потолок зарплат в КХЛ, говоря о российском футболе


Хачанов достиг третьего раунда теннисного турнира «Мастерс»

Зверев пробился в третий раунд турнира "Мастерс" в Цинциннати

Теннисист номер один мира прошёл отбор на итоговое соревнование ATP

Павлюченкова уступила во втором круге турнира WTA 1000 в Цинциннати


Собянин: сбиты ещё три беспилотника, летевших на Москву

Москвичу выплатили долги по зарплате в размере 700 тысяч благодаря прокурору

Собянин: силы ПВО сбили два летевших на Москву беспилотника

Сулейманов высказался о первой победе «Ростова»


Музыкальные новости

Возлюбленная Тимати ответила, почему не вышла замуж за репера

Обиды на отца, алкоголизм, ссоры с Влади и дружба с Ефремовым: как живёт Никита Высоцкий

Посвященную Шостаковичу выставку открыли в Филармонии Петербурга

Цыганова обрушилась на Слепакова*


От Чехова с мангустами до встречи “Варягов”: что скрывают стены Московского вокзала Тулы

Команда «Буран» одержала победу на «Архипелаге 2025»

"Динамо" Карпина упустило победу над "Сочи" в конце матча

«Бежим за Мечту — Ходить»: подростки на протезах пробегут марафон в Екатеринбурге


Трамвай «Славянка» получил первые тяговые подстанции

Дилеры по всей России получают Lada Iskra. Пока отгружают только седаны в цвете «Капитан» и универсалы в цвете «Табаско»

Ротенберг про Кубок Овечкина: «Спасибо Александру, Правительству Московской области и организаторам. Такие события вдохновляют детей, дают веру в свои силы и желание двигаться вперед»

Свадьба стоимостью однушки в Москве — сколько Деревянко потратил на торжество


У Крымского моста скопилась очередь из 1,1 тысячи автомобилей

Дептранс Москвы предупредил автомобилистов об ухудшении погоды

Процесс сошел с рельсов // Верховный суд определил пересмотреть дело о наезде Kia на трамвай

Российский рэпер сжег кабриолет BMW прямо на сцене


Bloomberg сообщает, что ЕС хочет провести переговоры с Трампом до встречи с Путиным

Генсек НАТО предположил возможный итог встречи Трампа и Путина

Путин обратился с приветствием к участникам форума «Машук»

Российские акции демонстрируют уверенный рост на фоне ожиданий встречи Путина и Трампа




Гастроэнтеролог Садыков: аппендицит из-за семечек арбуза или шелухи подсолнуха — миф

Компания «КЕНГУРУ.ПРО» подписала соглашение с сетью премиальных фитнес-студий PRO TRENER

Custom Clinic - это клиника в центре Санкт-Петербурга, где решают проблему выпадения волос комплексно и эффективно

Столичные росгвардейцы приняли участие в забеге, посвященном Дню физкультурника


После «успешных» переговоров с Вэнсом в Киеве вновь отвергли мирные инициативы

В Киеве сделали заявление о территориальных уступках


Компания «КЕНГУРУ.ПРО» подписала соглашение с сетью премиальных фитнес-студий PRO TRENER

Охрану общественного порядка и безопасность на футбольных матчах в Москве обеспечила Росгвардия

«Торпедо» и «Спартак» Кострома сразятся за три очка. «Торпедо» Москва — «Спартак» Кострома: прогноз и ставка

"Динамо" Карпина упустило победу над "Сочи" в конце матча


Интервью Лукашенко на "Беларусь 1" стало примером пропагандистской одержимости

В Минске считают, что интервью Лукашенко превратили в пропагандистский опус


Собянин: Еще два направлявшихся к Москве БПЛА нейтрализованы силами ПВО

Собянин: с 2011 года в Москве привели в порядок более 90 км набережных

Сергей Собянин. Главное за день

Собянин: Окончен основной этап благоустройства набережной в Покровском-Стрешневе


Было-стало. Какая улица вела на Москву, а привела в заповедник

США предостерегают о возможной крупной чрезвычайной ситуации

Москва: Новая эра зарядных станций для электромобилей с поддержкой инвесторов

Без морщин. Эксперты рассказали о плюсах изменения климата в Москве


В Россию приходит новая чартерная египетская авиакомпания

Что известно о задержках рейсов в аэропортах РФ 11 августа 2025 года

Собянин: силы ПВО сбили два летевших на Москву беспилотника

Ультракороткофокусный лазерный проектор Hisense Smart Laser Cinema PT1 – теперь в России


без заголовка

Льготные ипотеки на Дальнем Востоке активно получают участники СВО и сотрудники ОПК

Полицейский погиб при задержании поджигателя релейного шкафа под Архангельском

Чёрный день календаря. 8 августа: Архангельская трагедия. Как ошибка пилота погубила рейс Як-40


Подросток на Мersedes сбил пешехода на трассе в Керчь

Прогноз погоды в Крыму на 11 августа

Сергей Карякин: 7 августа на поезде из Москвы в Симферополь выехали участники специальной спортивно-образовательной программы «Шахматный лагерь Сергея Карякина», которая стартует в Международном детском центре «Артек»

Прогноз погоды в Крыму на 10 августа


Антироссийский курс Трампа: новая стратегия США вызывает опасения экспертов

Врач Плинатус рассказала, какие прививки нужно сделать ребенку перед школой

Ефимов: с начала года утвердили 10 ППТ для 8 тыс. кв. м недвижимости

Индекс RGBI достиг максимума с февраля, Мосбиржа активно растет на фоне новостей














СМИ24.net — правдивые новости, непрерывно 24/7 на русском языке с ежеминутным обновлением *