'Survivor's guilt' is still plaguing us, say victims

Contaminated blood victims say they are living with "survivor's guilt" as their lives "continue to be blighted" by the lasting effects of the scandal.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Victims and their loved ones have spoken out about the tragic events and the long-lasting effects of the tragic events which saw thousands of people given contaminated blood or blood products between the 1970s and 1990s. Thousands were infected with hepatitis and HIV as a result of what is now being regarded as one of the worst treatment disasters in the history of the NHS.

Family members and victims are sharing their stories ahead of the official probe into the scandal, the Infected Blood Inquiry, publishing its report today. The sister of a popular local radio DJ who died after receiving a contaminated blood product has described how she is still deeply impacted by her brother’s death almost 30 years ago.

Amanda Patton’s brother Simon Cummings was infected with HIV through his treatment for haemophilia and died in 1996, aged 38.

Ms Patton, a garden designer from Surrey, said: “He phoned me in September of that year and he said: ‘I’ve got good news and bad news; the bad news is that they’ve given me between two and six months (to live), but the good news is I don’t have to go to the dentist again.’ It was just typical of him, absolutely typical.”

She added: “People say that time heals, but it doesn’t – what happened to him was so awful, he would have been 65… all those years he was denied, it’s all the ‘might have beens’ as well as everything else.”