Why is it in the News?

An independent inquiry report on the UK’s contaminated blood scandal, to be published Monday (May 20), indicates Britain may pay over 10 billion pounds ($12.70 billion) in compensation to thousands infected with HIV or hepatitis.

What is the Contaminated Blood Scandal?

• During the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of people who had the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia were given blood donated or sold by people who were infected with the HIV virus and hepatitis.
  • Tainted blood was also given to people who needed blood transfusions after childbirth or surgery.
• In the early 1970s, the NHS (Britain’s National Health Service) started using a new treatment for haemophilia called Factor VIII.
  • This was a processed pharmaceutical product that was created by pooling plasma from many donors.
  • Factor VIII was considered to be a “wonder drug” for patients with classical haemophilia and Von Willebrand Syndrome (which is a bleeding disorder in which the patient’s blood cannot clot fully), more efficient and convenient than earlier treatments.
• The nature of Factor VIII was such that even one infected donor could compromise the entire batch of the protein.
• The product used by the NHS was imported from the United States, where a large volume of donated plasma at the time came from prisoners and users of intravenous drugs who were paid for their blood.
• The inquiry report has estimated that more than 30,000 people were infected with HIV, hepatitis C or, as in the case of 1,250 haemophiliacs, both.
• Most hepatitis C infections were seen in transfusion recipients, and as many as 380 children were infected with HIV.
• Nearly two-thirds of those who were infected with HIV later died of AIDS-related illnesses, and an unknown number transferred HIV to their partners.
• The report said that 2,400-5,000 recipients of blood developed hepatitis C, with the exact figure not known yet, as symptoms can show up years later.

How did the government react after the scandal was widely known?

• It was only after 1985 that all Factor VIII products were heat-treated to kill the HIV virus.
  • However, UK blood donations were not routinely screened for hepatitis C until 1991.
• Evidence provided to the inquiry suggests that the British government chose to turn a blind eye to the situation, mainly due to financial considerations.
  • Official documents from the 1990s revealed that due to cost concerns, the NHS did not pursue adequate testing or awareness campaigns, despite warnings in the mid-1970s about the risks of viral infections from US blood donations.
• As early as 1953, the World Health Organisation (WHO), had warned of the hepatitis risks associated with the mass pooling of plasma products.
  • It urged that dried plasma should be prepared from pools of between 10 to 20 donors to reduce the risk of contamination.
• In 1974, the UN agency warned Britain not to import blood from countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis, such as the US.
• Another warning of the risk of contracting HIV from blood products was issued in 1982.
• The following year, The Lancet and WHO said haemophiliacs should be told about the dangers of donated plasma.