New GP drive to find undiagnosed infected blood scandal victims

All new patients registering at a GP practice in England will be asked if they had a blood transfusion before 1996 – as part of a drive to find more people affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

Around 800,000 people register with a GP each year – and half of these are people born before 1996 – meaning some 400,000 will be asked if they received a historic blood transfusion.

Those who did will be offered a test for Hepatitis C.

More than 30,000 people were infected with potentially deadly viruses between the 1970s and early 1990s as they received contaminated blood transfusions or blood products while undergoing NHS care.

Around 3,000 people died as a result and survivors are living with lifelong health implications.

The Infected Blood Inquiry said people were “knowingly infected” because authorities did not put patient safety first.

After the public inquiry concluded in 2023, the government announced the creation of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), an arm’s length body that would manage payments to victims and their families.

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority said, as of 6 May, 677 people have been asked to start their claim and 106 payments have been made, totalling more than £96m.

Some families have criticised the scheme, saying they have been excluded.

At home testing kits

There is now a drive to find undiagnosed patients from the scandal.

If identified as someone who received a blood transfusion, patients will be able to order a discreet, self-testing Hepatitis C kit to complete at home.

Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver and if left untreated, can sometimes cause serious and potentially life-threatening liver damage over many years.

It does not have many noticeable symptoms until the liver is significantly damaged – which means people can live with the infection without realising.

But once diagnosed it can be treated with antivirals, the NHS says.

Read more from the infected blood scandal:
Who should get tested?
Victims worried they won’t survive for compensation
Factor 8: The school pupils who lost everything

Only those born on or before 31 December 1995 will be asked if they have had a blood transfusion.

Patients will be reminded of the likely reasons they may have had one – including after an accident, surgery, during childbirth complications, or other medical treatment.