Andy Evans was injecting his own clotting protein at three, and was 13 when he found it had given him HIV. Now he campaigns for fellow survivors – and the truth about the contamination scandal
The children of the contaminated blood scandal | Today in Focus
Andy Evans was 13 when his mum took him for an unexpected drive in the countryside. “I thought: this is weird. Why are we here? We don’t do this,” he remembered. “We sat for a couple of minutes and then she turned to me with tears in her eyes. And she said: ‘Do you know what HIV is?’ And I said: ‘Well, I’ve heard of it … Isn’t it that disease that kills you?’ And she said: ‘Yep, that’s right. It’s been in the factor VIII and you’ve got it.’”
Factor VIII was the concentrated blood clotting protein he had been receiving for his haemophilia since being diagnosed as a baby. Touted as a wonder drug to stop internal bleeding, it was so easy to mix with water and inject with a syringe that Evans was able to administer it himself at home before his fourth birthday.
Continue reading…Andy Evans was injecting his own clotting protein at three, and was 13 when he found it had given him HIV. Now he campaigns for fellow survivors – and the truth about the contamination scandalThe children of the contaminated blood scandal | Today in FocusAndy Evans was 13 when his mum took him for an unexpected drive in the countryside. “I thought: this is weird. Why are we here? We don’t do this,” he remembered. “We sat for a couple of minutes and then she turned to me with tears in her eyes. And she said: ‘Do you know what HIV is?’ And I said: ‘Well, I’ve heard of it … Isn’t it that disease that kills you?’ And she said: ‘Yep, that’s right. It’s been in the factor VIII and you’ve got it.’”Factor VIII was the concentrated blood clotting protein he had been receiving for his haemophilia since being diagnosed as a baby. Touted as a wonder drug to stop internal bleeding, it was so easy to mix with water and inject with a syringe that Evans was able to administer it himself at home before his fourth birthday. Continue reading…
Andy Evans was injecting his own clotting protein at three, and was 13 when he found it had given him HIV. Now he campaigns for fellow survivors – and the truth about the contamination scandal
The children of the contaminated blood scandal | Today in Focus
Andy Evans was 13 when his mum took him for an unexpected drive in the countryside. “I thought: this is weird. Why are we here? We don’t do this,” he remembered. “We sat for a couple of minutes and then she turned to me with tears in her eyes. And she said: ‘Do you know what HIV is?’ And I said: ‘Well, I’ve heard of it … Isn’t it that disease that kills you?’ And she said: ‘Yep, that’s right. It’s been in the factor VIII and you’ve got it.’”
Factor VIII was the concentrated blood clotting protein he had been receiving for his haemophilia since being diagnosed as a baby. Touted as a wonder drug to stop internal bleeding, it was so easy to mix with water and inject with a syringe that Evans was able to administer it himself at home before his fourth birthday.
Continue reading… Contaminated blood scandal, UK news, NHS, Health, Aids and HIV, Hepatitis C, Society Science | The Guardian
