But their dreams were shattered when, earlier this year, fertility investigations revealed that Janice had hepatitis C. She contracted the deadly disease against the odds from her mother who became infected after receiving contaminated blood during a kidney transplant in 1973.
There is just a six in 100 chance of the disease passing from mother to child in the womb. Now Janice fears she is among a new generation of victims, many of whom may not even know they are infected.
Self-employed Janice, 36, who lives in Bedfordshire, said: “I am absolutely horrified that so little has been done to stop the spread of this devastating illness.
Read more....
Showing posts with label tainted blood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tainted blood. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Canada: Diane Parsons, who fought for hepatitis C victims, dead at 64
Diane Forsyth, better known under maiden name, Diane Parsons, famed for leading legal fight for those infected with hepatitis C from tainted blood transfusions.
HALIFAX — A Halifax woman who led a $1.18 billion class-action settlement for those infected with hepatitis C died Saturday at the age of 64.
Diane Forsyth became known nationally under her maiden name, Diane Parsons, for leading the legal fight for those infected with hepatitis C from blood transfusions.
Her family doctor, Patricia Beresford, said Forsyth, who had a bleeding disorder, became ill after getting a blood transfusion before dental surgery in 1989.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Ireland: Hepatitis C patients to finally start life-saving treatment
Nearly all 250 sufferers expected to recover after treatment costing up to €55,000 each
Some 250 seriously ill patients with hepatitis C are to begin receiving a life-saving new treatment after a six-month delay caused by bureaucratic red tape.
The first group of patients with advanced liver disease who have been approved will be treated at one of 10 centres across the State in the coming weeks. Virtually all are expected to be “cured” of the disease following a 12-week programme, which is costing between €45,000 and €55,000 per patient.
Last month, doctors warned that patients were dying because of the failure of the Government to roll out a national treatment programme, even after negotiations with drug companies had ended. Other patients were paying privately for the treatment because of the absence of State support.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
UK: Man given HIV and hepatitis from blood transfusion finally wins apology - but still fighting for compensation
Mark Ward was being treated for haemophilia as a teenager in the 1980s when he became one of thousands made ill from infected blood supplies
A man who was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion in the 1980s is demanding financial compensation after finally getting an apology from the Government.
Mark Ward said his life was destroyed when he tested positive with the virus at age 15 after receiving tainted blood at the Royal Free Hospital in North London.
Athough, at 45, he has outlived doctors' expectations, he grew up with a “death sentence” hanging over him, dependent on a daily dosage of drugs with no idea how long he will live.
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Saturday, May 9, 2015
UK: NHS denies lifesaving drug to 5,000 patients it gave infected blood: Sofosbuvir has been approved by regulators but victims are STILL waiting for treatment
- Thousands of victims were infected by hepatitis C through imported blood
- Breakthrough drug Sofosbuvir was approved by regulator NICE in January
- But NHS England is delaying treatment for patients until at least August
Thousands of patients who contracted a deadly disease through contaminated blood in the biggest scandal in NHS history are being denied a lifesaving drug.
About 7,500 victims are known to have been infected with hepatitis C in the 1970s and 1980s through imported blood products taken from high-risk donors such as prostitutes and prisoners.
A breakthrough drug called Sofosbuvir was approved in January by drugs regulator NICE and patients were told they would have to wait until April to get the ten-week course of tablets, which costs £45,000.
But NHS England has decided on a further delay until August to ensure all patients have equal access to treatment.
Monday, March 30, 2015
UK: Amends must be made to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal now
AFTER decades of campaigning, the decision to hold a public inquiry into what has been dubbed the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS was welcomed by the victims who were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood.
Last week it was a very different story as the publication of the final report was met with anger and accusations of a "whitewash".
The chair of the inquiry Lord Penrose, apportioned no blame for the tragedy and did not conclude that the infection of nearly 3,000 people in Scotland with HIV and hepatitis C from blood transfusions and products used to treat bleeding disorders could have been prevented.
But what the final report of the inquiry - which runs to five volumes - does document is a series of shocking revelations about the events which led to the disaster. The scale of the suffering is also laid bare with the harrowing stories detailed in the report - such as a mother who unwittingly infected her young son with HIV believing she was giving him the best treatment for haemophilia.
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015
UK: Lesley Hughes now demanding apology for blood transfusion scandal blighting thousands of patients
At risk: Lesley Hughes who found out just last year she contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion.
It was the blood that was supposed to give her life.
However, the 61-year-old says that blood has given her a death sentence after discovering just last year by chance that it infected her with the deadly virus hepatitis C.
Last week the couple from the New Forest travelled to London where the issue was debated in parliament with MPs calling for a long-awaited national public apology and final settlement ahead of the results of a public inquiry into the scandal being published in March.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015
UK: St Neots man calls for justice from contaminated blood inquiry after losing three family members
Tony Farrugia, 43, of Howitt’s Gardens, Eynesbury, is pushing for the scope of the Penrose Inquiry – a public inquiry into HIV and Hepatitis C infections acquired from NHS treatment with blood and blood products in Scotland – to bring justice to patients and their families. He said that it would still be relevant to his cause in England, as the blood was given to patients prior to the Scottish NHS being separated from England.
Mr Farrugia lost his father Barry and uncles Victor and David – who were all haemophiliacs – as a result of the treatment they were given with contaminated blood. The hereditary condition, which prevents blood from clotting, meant that they required the protein Factor VIII to be administered during medical treatment.
Unbeknown to the public, the NHS had sourced paid-for blood donations which were distributed by American suppliers and taken from communities with an increased risk of having potentially deadly infections, such as prison inmates.
Read more...
Mr Farrugia lost his father Barry and uncles Victor and David – who were all haemophiliacs – as a result of the treatment they were given with contaminated blood. The hereditary condition, which prevents blood from clotting, meant that they required the protein Factor VIII to be administered during medical treatment.
Unbeknown to the public, the NHS had sourced paid-for blood donations which were distributed by American suppliers and taken from communities with an increased risk of having potentially deadly infections, such as prison inmates.
Read more...
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