What is the infected blood scandal?
Summary
Government officials have been asked to present new evidence in an ongoing inquiry about slow compensation payments related to the infected blood scandal in the UK. This scandal involved over 30,000 people who contracted HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.Key Facts
- Over 30,000 people in the UK received contaminated blood and became infected with HIV and hepatitis C during the 1970s and 1980s.
- The scandal has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
- People with haemophilia, a condition where blood does not clot properly, were mainly affected by contaminated blood products.
- About 1,250 people with bleeding disorders in the UK developed HIV and hepatitis C, including 380 children.
- Around 2,900 people are thought to have died due to infections from contaminated blood products.
- The inquiry reported that the risks were known as early as 1948, but full information was not disclosed to patients.
- The UK government has allocated £11.8 billion for compensation to victims and formed the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to manage payments.
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