UK’s Contaminated blood scandal

• Context (IE): Britain is expected to compensate thousands of people who were infected with HIV or hepatitis via contaminated blood.
• The inquiry was launched in 2017. Almost 3,000 people were estimated to have died of complications.
• The inquiry was expected to look into the cases of deadly diseases from transfusions of infected blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) The NHS is an inclusive public health service under government administration. It was established by the National Health Service Act of 1946 and subsequent legislation in 1948. The entire population of the UK is covered, and health services are provided free of cost to the public. It is the world’s fifth-largest employer and the largest non-military public organisation.

Contaminated blood scandal

• During the 1970s and 1980s, people who had the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia or needed transfusions after childbirth or surgery were given blood infected with the HIV virus & hepatitis.

Factor VIII

• Factor VIII was considered to be a “wonder drug” for patients with classical haemophilia and Von Willebrand Syndrome, more efficient and convenient than earlier treatments.

Von Willebrand Syndrome is a bleeding disorder in which the patient’s blood cannot clot fully.

• The NHS introduced this processed pharmaceutical product in the 1970s, created by pooling plasma from many donors. 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.

Concerns

• Inquiry estimated that more than 30,000 people were infected with HIV, hepatitis C or as haemophiliacs.
• Several reports have stated that school children were subjected to medical trials using infected blood products, even without consent.
• There is evidence that experts called on fellow doctors “to identify patients suitable for clinical trials” and, more specifically, “previously untreated patients”.
• Evidence suggests that the British government chose to turn a blind eye to the situation, mainly due to financial considerations.

Warnings by international agencies

• As early as 1953, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the hepatitis risks associated with the mass pooling of plasma products.
• 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.