Thousands affected

Blood bank scandal: Prime Minister apologizes

(Bild: AFP)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak officially apologized to thousands of people affected by the scandal over contaminated blood supplies on Monday. "I am truly sorry," said Sunak in front of Parliament in London. The findings of a report into the scandal were "a disgrace to the British state".

More than 30,000 people were infected with viruses - such as HIV or hepatitis - after receiving transfusions of contaminated blood between 1970 and the early 1990s, according to an investigation report presented on Monday. The patients affected were those who needed a blood transfusion after an accident or an operation, for example, or who were treated with blood plasma products due to anaemia.

Already 3000 dead, more will die
According to the report, which is over 2,500 pages long, around 3,000 people have died and more deaths are to be expected in the coming years. Many recipients also have to contend with lifelong health problems.

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In the UK, there is talk of the biggest health disaster in the 80-year history of the British National Health Service (NHS). The scandal is said to have been covered up for years and many victims could have been avoided. "Time and time again, people in positions of power and trust had the opportunity to stop the transmission of these infections and they failed," said Prime Minister Sunak. He promised to compensate the victims - "no matter what the cost".

Children as research subjects
According to the report, in some cases children with coagulation disorders were regarded as "research subjects". At one school where a total of 122 pupils with haemophilia were given contaminated blood products between 1970 and 1987, only 30 of them have survived, according to the report.

Premier Sunak apologized to the victims on Monday.

(Bild: AFP)

Judge Brian Langstaff's investigation team concluded that many cases, though not all, could have been avoided. Governments and those responsible in the health sector had not reacted, although the risks of transmission of AIDS, for example, had been known since the early 1980s. Blood donors were not properly tested and blood products were imported from abroad. There is also evidence that attempts were made to cover up the scandal in the 1990s by destroying documents.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May initiated the investigation into the blood scandal in 2017.