Jason Evans said there was ‘no life’ before the scandal, as his first memories of his dad were of him dying from Aids having being infected with contaminated blood The Infected Blood Inquiry, set up in 2017 to examine what is the biggest scandal in NHS history, will publish its final report on Monday. It is expected to reveal that officials and medics knew how to safeguard patients when giving them blood products but chose to ignore basic medical practices.
In the early 70s, the UK had not achieved self-sufficiency in blood donations, meaning the Government had to look elsewhere to ensure the supply of blood and related products met increasing demand. The NHS began using foreign supplies from the United States as they were cheaper. While it did not import whole blood, large quantities of Factor VIII were imported.
Mr Evans said: “That knowledge on heating blood products to prevent deadly infections and the recommendation on the maximum number of donors, going back such a long way, completely blows away the old cover-up narrative of self-sufficiency and that these things only became more apparent in the 970s. I think that will be the key finding from the evidence and that’s what we’re hoping to see.”, delivered though the newly established Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Rachel Halford, CEO of The Hepatitis C Trust, said: “We would not be where we are today without the community’s decades of tireless campaigning for answers. We hope that Monday’s report marks the beginning of the end of this long campaign for justice for everyone who has been impacted by infected blood and blood products.
“What the twice-delayed Final Inquiry Report means to this community is nigh on inconceivable to describe,” he said.