WHAT IS THE CONTAMINATED BLOOD SCANDAL?

Haemophilia has, for centuries, been an affliction which has been difficult to treat. The hereditary condition sees sufferers not have the ability for their blood to naturally clot sufficiently. This means when they bleed it is difficult for them to stop - with the obvious potential dangers.

Back in the 1970s drug companies developed a method of extracting the clotting agents from plasma in blood which could then be turned into a treatment to give haemophiliacs. Most commonly known as Factor VIII, this would provide temporary relief and allow the blood to clot.

Such was the demand, during the 70s and 80s, those companies sought vast quantities of blood to manufacture the treatment. In doing so, they would source it from a variety of places. Notably, and particularly in the US, they paid prisoners and even drug addicts to donate.

The result was some of the blood extracted included HIV, which can lead to Aids, and hepatitis C, a disease which affects the liver and can be fatal.

All mixed together and ordered by the Department of Health to treat haemophiliacs, many would go on to find themselves infected, unknowingly, by the illnesses.

It is estimated around 4,600 people, primarily haemophiliacs, were infected with hepatitis C and around 1,200 of which also received HIV in the blood. Some 2,400 of the victims have since died.

Some campaigners say there is evidence to suggest the Department of Health knew of the dangers of Factor VIII long before it banned any non-heat treated blood products when Aids started to spread. The DOH denies this. Former health minister, and now Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, described it as a “criminal cover-up on an industrial scale” as he played a pivotal role in the public inquiry finally being delivered.