The scandal of infected blood affecting people who were given Factor 8 blood products is getting a lot of media coverage. The media love a good sob story. Haemophiliacs were particularly affected because Factor 8 was one of the few treatments available so it was given widely and without much thought to the possible risks. But the products used were mainly from America where blood donors from which the product was obtained often had HIV or Hepatitis C. The latter is a particularly dangerous form of Hepatitis and can lead to death in a few years.
About 10 years ago I was in the Liver Intensive Care Unit at Kings College Hospital and several patients there had a very poor prognosis with HEP C – they were very depressed. That included one person who had acquired the infection from a fight outside a pub – either he had bitten someone with the disease or been bitten by them – I cannot recall which.
Apparently only Hepatitis A or B were known before about the 1960s and apart from HEP C other variants known as D and E are now known. I managed to catch Hepatitis E a few years later probably from eating raw salami when I had a suppressed immune system.
Most people would not even know if they have been infected with HEP E although it can be dangerous for a few people as the symptoms can be very mild. I would not have known if I had not had a blood test for other reasons (as a renal patient). I got a call from the hospital saying I had to go to A&E immediately as I was seriously ill! My ALT blood test for liver function was greater than 1,000 when it should be about 50. This was disconcerting as I had no symptoms. I spent 12 hours there with no conclusions except I may have been poisoned. With no bed available by 2 o’clock in the morning I discharged myself much against the objections of the hospital doctors.
But a few weeks later one of the renal consultants guessed HEP E was the problem and confirmed it with blood tests. It cleared itself.
More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C from 1970 to 1991 by contaminated blood products and transfusions. About 3,000 of them have since died and there are calls for compensation. A report from a Public Inquiry into the scandal should be published today – see https://www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk/ . It has been suggested that billions of pounds should be paid to those affected, or their relatives, but should such a massive hole in Government and NHS budgets be made?
I think not. They certainly might deserve an apology but those affected will already get free treatment from the NHS. It is not clear to me, subject to reading the report, that doctors or politicians were reckless or acted maliciously to conceal the evidence that was emerging before the full facts were known.
It is not possible to compensate everyone who suffers from medical problems that affect them. Money does not solve their problems except in rare cases.
Postscript (21/5/2024): I have now read the key parts of the Report from the Infected Blood Inquiry. It was indeed a catalogue of errors, although much of it depends on hindsight. Most of the recommendations make sense including the award of financial compensation for those affected. However the Report seems to avoid the issue of how much and who exactly will quality for that. These are the key questions when spending money on that might undermine treatments for other diseases.
For information on Hepatitis E go here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-e-symptoms-transmission-prevention-treatment/ . Avoiding eating raw pork can help and avoid biting people or being bitten!
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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