It is proof of just how dangerous the UK blood supply was up until the early 1990s, when it became possible to test for potentially fatal diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
Haemophiliacs, the group most affected by the infection crisis owing to blood products imported from the US created from tainted blood from paid donors, including those incarcerated, have received a lot of attention from the investigation.
However, the majority of hepatitis C infections in the UK were contracted through blood transfusions received through the NHS for purposes such as regular surgery and cancer treatment.
Nearly all of the blood used to provide this quiet majority during the contaminated blood scandal came from British donors.
Daphne Whitehorn adds, “I passed it on because I felt so guilty.”
