General Chat

I guess this sums up the mess as well as anything.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/those-affected-uk-s-contaminated-blood-scandal-deserve-apology-prime-minister

The compensation offered has been an absolute insult.

I had a friend, not close but I knew him to be quite a wonderful person, who was one of the stranger casualties of this entire drama

he contracted Hepatitis C from the blood supply ... but by *giving blood* when contaminated equipment was used in the process

he lived with Hep C for many years ... which was lucky as his wife had died of breast cancer at 34 leaving two very young daughters ... but ultimately developed liver cancer and died

My best friend's brother contracted Hep C from blood transfusions, a liver transplant would have given him more years of life but the hope of a match with his best friend was dashed, and he too left a young daughter

Inquiries are useful for righting wrongs for future ... but proper compensation is what the people living with the effects, be they the victims or their families, need now

at least the inquiry into blood-transfusion related HIV and Hep C here did take place many years ago.


All infections would have happened before 1990, as blood products were tested for both HIV and Hep C after that year

The brother of a friend died of an AIDS related illness. He was a haemophiliac and had been given infected blood products.

Sorry doesn't cut it. His family have been through hell, he had a wife and children who, no thanks to the NHS, are thankfully not HIV+.

The compensation offered was derisory and the support non-existent.

Disgusting that this has taken so long to come out - and where is the English/ Welsh inquiry?

we call them red-necks over here

I think, albeit to a lesser extent, people are still treated like that today.

People's ill-education turns them into opinionated bigots who have no idea what they are actually talking about.

I agree ..................


I'm telling you this story not because i am proud of myself, but because I think it demonstrates how people could be treated, during the period from about 1990 to 1997

Our friend caught his HIV from his partner ............. it was not from a blood donation.

His partner was an administrator in a law firm, and lost his job as soon as they found out, which was about 1990/91.

He was perfectly capable of working, but never managed to get another job.

He remained in our circle of friends for the 2+ years it took him to die.

Our friend was diagnosed after his partner had died .................... my first thought when he told me was to hug him as tightly as I could.

He was lucky ................ he worked for the university, which was enlightened, and he continued working as long as he was able, which was until about 2 months before he died.


My daughter was very close to our friend .................. and used his diagnosis to rant at one of her friends who had come out as gay, and was behaving recklessly, to force him to take much more care.

Thank you Sylvia, that is very much appreciated.

The sad thing is that I have often found that people who misunderstand the situation or make light of it come across as homophobic - which shows a total lack of understanding etc.

there was also a cover-up over here ........................


and this city is now one of the world's centres for HIV treatment.

The doctor responsible for the biggest advancement in HIV treatment is now advocating that a similar methodology could be used for hep C

this article gives the clearest description of the hiv procedure that I've seen recently

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-researcher-gets-vaticans-blessing-on-life-saving-hiv-treatment/article23462471/


It seems that Julio Montaner is thinking that a similar treatment might work for Hep C



and yes, we have had several friends die of HIV. We also had a friend who died of Hep C back in the late 1980s


to feel empathy does not mean that I or a close relative have it.


I only regret that our closest friend died in 1997, a year before more retrovirals came on the scene.

Rollo - it is one of the biggest medical cover-ups of recent times and is still brushed under the carpet because of people's fears, biases and discrimination.

JoyBoroAngel:
"Errol I worry about everybody Its my nature
and I would dream of putting anything into your mouth"

Please keep your dreams to yourself and do not turn this thread into something that it is clearly not.

Thank you.

EDIT Isn't the edit button great?

Exactly the same thing happened in France (affaire du sang) with a great big govt cover up and subsequent investigation. A close friend and relative of my wife died. Yes, he was hiv +ve. It was years before the truth was told.

Errol I worry about everybody Its my nature
and I would not dream of putting anything into your mouth :-D :-D

Rambling Rose - HIV was very much "newsworthy" at the time hence it getting higher billing than Hep C.

My friend and employee died because of one of these so-called "bad transfusions".

One of the greatest honours of my life was being asked to speak at his funeral but it was, actually, one of the hardest things I have ever done.

I also remember him telling me he was HIV positive and accepting that I would sack him there and then because there was such a stigma attached to the illness back then.

Such was the narrow mindedness at the time (and still today with some!).

I employed him right up until he passed away.

THAT is why this is such an important issue to me.

I saw this on the news earlier, to be honest I had not realised that a public inquiry was so long in coming, I remember the first concerns raised when people who had had blood transfusions realised they may have been exposed to HIV, back in the days before treatment for that was as effective as it now is. My friend was having blood transfusions at the time, she was understandably worried. ( edit I think the risk of Hep C was less well publicised at the time).

"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32041715

JoyBoroAngel you have quite openly never been worried about me - in fact oftentimes you have come across as being the opposite.

It is a topic that I feel very strongly about but please do not try to put words into my mouth.

Thank you.

I assumed you put this up because you where worried about it Erroll
l I was worried for you to :-D :-D

JoyBoroAngel:

"I didn't realise you had a blood transfusion Errol

I am sorry to hear your worried about it"


JoyBoroAngel - what on earth are you on about?

I was commenting on what is, for many people, an extremely serious issue and has led to the untimely deaths of many others.

Where did I say that I had received a blood transfusion?

I didn't realise you had a blood transfusion Errol


I am sorry to hear your worried about it :-( :-(