Posted on 06/21/2002 6:46:24 PM PDT by adanaC
By Richard Woodman
LONDON (Reuters Health) - The British government was urged on Tuesday to make £52.6 million available annually for people with haemophilia who were infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood products.
Haemophilia is an inherited blood-clotting disorder. Those with the condition are at high risk for uncontrolled, potentially fatal bleeding following injury, and must have frequent infusions of blood products containing a clotting factor. Hepatitis C is a virus that attacks the liver, in some cases leading to severe liver damage and the need for a transplant.
The annual payments are needed because of loss of earnings; difficulties in obtaining travel, life and medical insurance, pensions and mortgages; and the progressive impact of hepatitis C on the health of haemophiliacs, according to the society.
"The infection of 95% of people with haemophilia with hepatitis C from their NHS blood products in the 1970s and 1980s was a medical tragedy perhaps without parallel in the history of the health service," said the society's chief executive, Karin Pappenheim.
"The model we publish today represents a serious contribution to the debate with--for the first time--a properly developed and costed plan. Ministers should consider this very carefully and look at the international precedents in Ireland, Canada and elsewhere," she added.
Pappenheim said recognition of these individuals' loss and suffering was long overdue. "The lives of thousands of people have been shattered by their infection with hepatitis C through contaminated blood products used by the National Health Service. By implementing this scheme, the government can at last provide some comfort for this small and unfortunate community."
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The information has gone out into cyberspace and perhaps a few more who are unfamiliar with the story will have their eyes opened a bit more.
It truly is horrendous.
When I first got on the 'net in 1999, the "Blood Trail" story was one of the first things I searched for, and I was amazed and appalled at how much information was out there, and the iron curtain of silence that hid it. What little use I still had for the Mainstream Media vanished then.
I'm awfully sorry to learn of your husband's ordeal- my first wife had a couple of bouts with cancer before a stroke carried her away, and while I try not to think of those days much, I do recall them all too well.
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