Infected and forced to sign away all my rights
AT FIVE years old my life changed for ever when I was given the contaminated blood product Factor VIII as part of my treatment for haemophilia (Mail). I’m now 41 and life since then has been a battle for me and my parents. I have lost count of the number of times we were told I was going to die. I have spent months in hospital fighting hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The infections, along with experimental treatments, have wrecked my health and I can’t enjoy many of the things I yearn to do. It is my firm belief that as a child I was used by doctors in trials. I was one of the previously untreated patients (PUPS) they searched for in order to test new treatments. When I was 13, my parents were forced to sign an agreement stating we would never bring a lawsuit against the government for any infections I suffered, including hepatitis C. They were told if they didn’t sign, no one would receive any of the meagre ex gratia payments we were being offered for being infected with HIV. This was in 1990, when there was no treatment for HIV. People were dying and, meagre or not, that money was essential. We didn’t know then that we were all infected with hepatitis C. Our doctors did know, long before we were made to sign away our rights. As chairman of the TaintedBlood campaign group, I witness each day not only my suffering, but that of our thousandsad members.ebes ForFo decades they the have not only had to battle ill health, the loss of loved ones and the trauma of infections, but have been treated as financial pawns by various governments. Having to continually explain, fill in forms and justify what happened in order to get charitable handouts and grants has wrecked the already fragile mental health of many. As a victim and a representative of so many others, I implore the present Government finally to do the right thing. Ensure that all those infected and affected are made financially secure for life. Let us then focus on the public inquiry in the hope that we can finally see justice.
ANDREW EVANS, address supplied.