Bad Blood Inquiry

A FORMER haemophiliac has welcomed evidence from a past health minister as part of the inquiry into how thousands of people were infected with killer diseases after being given infected blood products.

David Fieding, a father-of-three, from Darley Avenue, Farnworth, says "another gap has been filled" in the quest for information about how thousands of people with haemophilia were infected with Hepatitis Cand HIV during treatment in the 1970s.

The inquiry has heard that in 1974, Lord David Owen, who was a health minister, announced plans to achieve self sufficiency in blood products, which would mean the UK had no reliance on oversea sources..

But his dream was never realsied and the failure is thought to have contributed to the scale of the treatment disaster, because contaminated blood was shipped in from abroad.

Lord Owen was giving evidence to the inquiry, along with Bolton South-east MP Dr Brian Iddon.

Mr Fielding said: "I feel that as more and more questions are answered in this hearing, I'm finally getting some closure. I'm in the minority as I'm one of those who was infected who survived, but thousands of people have not been so fortunate."

More than 1,500 people have died or are terminally ill as a result of becoming infected after being given contaminated blood products. Mr Fielding, aged 51, contracted Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood

He was just days from death when he received a liver transplant, which also cured his haemophilia.

But his brother, Brian, was not so lucky and died form HIV in 1990 after be contracted the virus from the same contaminated blood products.