Infected blood patients received the best treatment available
| Infected blood patients received the best treatment available | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "UK patients infected with HIV and hepatitis C through blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s received the best treatment available at the time, and nothing could have been done to prevent it." | |
| Domain | Health & Medicine |
| Tactic | False Context Propaganda Technique |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 1980s |
| Origin | The UK government's longstanding public line on contaminated blood |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-30 |
| Further reading: books on Health & Medicine | |
From the 1970s to the early 1990s, about 30,000 people in the United Kingdom were infected with HIV, hepatitis C or both through contaminated blood transfusions and blood products, especially Factor VIII and IX concentrates used by people with haemophilia. Some of these products were imported from the United States and made from paid donors, including prisoners. About 3,000 people have died.
For decades, the government said patients had received the best treatment available and that the infections could not have been avoided.
What the evidence shows
- Inquiry finding. The Infected Blood Inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, reported on May 20, 2024, that the disaster "could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided."
- Known risks. The inquiry found that the risks of hepatitis and later HIV from pooled blood products were known and that authorities failed to act on them.
- Cover-up. It found that the government's line about best treatment was untrue and that there had been a pervasive cover-up, including the destruction of documents.
- Apology and compensation. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologized on May 20, 2024, and the government set up a compensation scheme.
Why it matters
Victims and families were told for decades that what happened to them was unavoidable. The official inquiry found that was false.
Gaslighting Patients and families were told for decades that nothing could have been done, an official line the public inquiry found untrue: a case of state gaslighting. The word comes from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gas Light and the 1944 film Gaslight, in which a husband dims the gas lamps and insists his wife is imagining it. Where the word comes from · More gaslighting cases
Sources
- Infected Blood Inquiry, The Report, May 20, 2024.
- UK Parliament, Hansard, Prime Minister's statement on the Infected Blood Inquiry report, May 20, 2024.
- BBC News, "Infected blood scandal: What happened and what did the inquiry find?" May 2024.