Great Britain: Compensation after infection through donated blood

The so-called blood scandal in Great Britain led to thousands of infections with HIV or hepatitis C. Decades later, the government is now paying damages – but only to surviving victims or their partners. That causes criticism.

Decades after thousands of times contaminated blood transfusions were passed on, Britain is awarding reparations to the victims. A preliminary payment should be 100,000 pounds per person – the equivalent of around 119,000 euros – and will be transferred by the end of October, the British government said.

The money goes to people who contracted HIV or hepatitis C from donated blood in the 1970s or 1980s – or to partners of victims who are no longer alive. About 2,400 patients died as a result of the contaminated transfusions. Family members such as parents and children are not included in the compensation payments. Those affected complain.

“Moral obligation”

Several thousand hospital patients suffering from the so-called “hemophilia” hemophilia had received contaminated blood transfusions through the National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain. This is how the infections came about. The NHS had received much of its blood supply from the United States because of a shortage in the UK. In the history of the British health system, what happened is considered one of the most serious treatment errors.

“There is no doubt about the moral obligation to compensate,” said Brian Langstaff, the head of the commission responsible for the investigation. Last month he had demanded that compensation be paid immediately.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged in a statement that “nothing can make up for the pain and suffering of those affected”. However, the government ensures that the victims and their families receive the payments quickly.

Further payments are expected

Those affected criticized the fact that not all family members were taken into account in the compensation. “The parents are feeling so discouraged,” said Rosemary Calder, quoted by the AP news agency. Her son died after receiving a blood product contaminated with the HI virus. Mark F., who is infected with the hepatitis C virus, is also quoted: He thinks it’s good that misconduct on the part of the authorities is being acknowledged.

In 2017, the UK government at the time decided to launch an investigation into the scandal. It should be completed in the coming year. It is expected that the final recommendation will include compensation for a larger group of people.

An earlier study in 2009 concluded that the UK government should have acted earlier to increase blood supplies and reduce dependence on imports. However, questions of liability remained open. In 2017, a UK court ruling allowed victims of the scandal to seek damages.