Britain is facing its worst medical scandal, with over 30,000 people infected with Hepatitis C and HIV from contaminated blood products or transfusions between the 1970s and 1990s. A public inquiry revealed a ‘catalogue of failures’ among NHS officials and politicians, leading to over 3,000 deaths.
The crisis began when the UK imported Factor VIII concentrate from the US, where donors were often high-risk individuals. As a result, patients contracted deadly diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV, particularly through blood transfusions.
‘Hiding the truth’
Despite early warnings about the risks of imported blood products, the government failed to act, choosing instead to hide the truth and defend their actions. Shockingly, doctors used this crisis to conduct unethical experiments on children with hemophilia, leading to devastating consequences.
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