A new Scottish government inquiry has revealed that patients with life-threatening diseases were given contaminated blood without their knowledge. This led to over 30,000 people becoming infected with HIV and Hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 80s, including approximately 3,000 patients in Scotland. The Infected Blood Inquiry assessed services across the UK and found that Scottish patients who were undergoing treatment for haemophilia were used for Aids research without their consent. Patients in Edinburgh and Glasgow were not informed of the risks of Factor VIII, a blood clotting treatment, and were instead studied for the effects of the medication.
The inquiry discovered that Scottish doctors were aware of the dangers of Factor VIII but did not inform their patients and instead proceeded with gathering clinical data. Many of the infected patients received blood transfusions on the National Health Service, while a few others were infected due to treatment for haemophilia. Unlike elsewhere in the UK, the vast majority of infections in Scotland came from blood donations from within the country, enabling doctors to avoid importing commercial products from the United States. The Protein Fractionation Centre in Edinburgh was able to manufacture treatments for immune deficiencies and haemophilia from processed blood plasma.
Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry chair, revealed that the “Edinburgh Cohort” was one of the world’s most studied groups of patients due to their exposure to a single batch of Factor VIII under the responsibility of Professor Christopher Ludlam. Sir Brian said that the patients should have been informed that they were being studied, and also about the findings of the research, but were “kept in the dark”. This led to some complacency among Scottish officials and a lack of action or decisions were taken, as they were near self-sufficient in blood products.
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service apologised to victims before the report was published. Scottish Public Health Minister Jenni Minto regretted the scandal and apologised to those affected by the situation. This comes after the Scottish government agreed as a matter of morality to compensation for corroded blood victims and has promised to work together with the UK government to ensure that any compensation plan works efficiently for those affected. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also apologised and promised full compensation to victims of this tragedy, believed to be more than £10bn
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