‘I was lying in hospital as they started planning my funeral’

A FATHER who contracted HIV in the tainted blood scandal told the inquiry that he came so close to death, his funeral had been arranged.

Perry Evans, 57, from Winchester, Hampshire, was infected after being treated with blood products for mild haemophilia in his early 20s. The inquiry was shown copies of his medical records revealing that doctors had failed to tell him he was HIV positive for more than a year.

Mr Evans, supported by his son Isaac, said that when he was given the diagnosis during what he thought was a routine appointment, he thought his dreams of having a family had been dashed.

‘I was left to my own devices, to go home and absorb the information that I would die young,’ he said.

Mr Evans described how he fell badly ill in 2008 and had to be placed in intensive care, adding: ‘They started to get a bit worried and our own vicar came and visited and I had my funeral arranged.’

Mr Evans was given a standing ovation at the end of his evidence. Inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff told him: ‘It’s been a privilege listening to you.’