I've tweeted and blogged about this story before, so if you already know the background, feel free to skip the rest of this... 2/n
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This is me and my Dad; in just over three weeks it will be his 78th birthday. He won't be here to celebrate it though. The day after his 48th birthday he went into hospital and never came home. 3/npic.twitter.com/cDd0xij0ap
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My Dad had haemophilia – this is a genetic disorder that manifests itself through a reduced ability to form blood clots; if you cut yourself it takes a long time to stop bleeding – but more insidious are the internal bleeds into joints (or even your brain). 4/n
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Note – I'm not a haemophiliac; the disorder is passed on through the X-chromosome; if I had any sisters (I don't), they would have been carriers of the disease (just like Queen Victoria was). 5/n
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In the late 70s and early 80s, many haemophiliacs were treated with blood products (clotting agents, Factor VIII and Factor IX) that would help control bleeding. My Dad received Factor VIII on numerous occasions – it really helped with his condition. But... 6/n
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...the UK imported a lot of Factor VIII from the USA, which was made by pooling and concentrating blood from large numbers of often high-risk donors, including prison inmates. Somewhat predictably, that turned out not to be a great idea. 7/n
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As a result of contamination, many haemophiliacs were infected with HIV or hepatitis C (or both). My Dad was one of them and I sat in an unremarkable hospital room in 1989 and watched him die. 8/n
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More than 1,200 haemophiliacs were infected with HIV and, as of 2013, more than 70% of them have died. Numbers from
@Factor8Campaign here: https://www.factor8scandal.uk/the-fallout 9/npic.twitter.com/xFkvaeRWtO
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Remember, this all happened in the 80s. AIDS was a dirty word and there were campaigns on TV that used images of a tombstone. We didn't talk about what happened to my Dad. It was a big deal to tell anyone and I told very few people, fearing what they would think. 10/npic.twitter.com/Y2Y61afhxJ
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It took me more than 20 years, but I finally blogged about it (many of you will know this post). https://stuartcantrill.com/2012/01/28/my-science-story-and-my-dad/ … 11/n
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There have been various reports and inquiries over the years, but none of them have been particularly satisfying, but now there is
@bloodinquiry (https://www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk/ ) and I've decided to get involved and tell my Dad's story. 12/nPrikaži ovu nit -
And for many people, time is running out. As revealed by
@pkelso, in the last year, 90 people affected by the#ContaminatedBlood scandal have died. That's one every four days. https://news.sky.com/story/at-least-160-affected-by-blood-scandal-have-died-since-inquiry-announced-11739722 … 13/nPrikaži ovu nit -
Here's some more background – a
@BBCNews story from yesterday. The story is gaining more traction, but still many people are unaware - hence I will be sharing more stories related to the#InfectedBloodInquiry in the coming months. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48596605 … 14/nPrikaži ovu nit -
I was speaking to someone from
@Collins_Law the other day, talking through my witness statement. At the end, I was asked what I want from the#InfectedBloodInquiry? Oddly enough, I hadn't really stopped to think about it, so I took some time to answer. 15/nPrikaži ovu nit -
And it's this: I want the truth. I want to know exactly what happened and whether it could have been avoided. I want someone to stand up and say sorry. I want accountability. I want closure (as much as that is possible). Thanks for listening. 16/16
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