Two main groups of NHS patients were caught up in the scandal.Firstly, haemophiliacs – and those with similar disorders – who have a rare genetic condition which means their blood does not clot properly, external. People with haemophilia A have a shortage of a clotting agent known as Factor VIII. People with haemophilia B don’t have enough Factor IX. In the 1970s, a new treatment was developed to replace the missing clotting agents, made from donated human blood plasma. But whole batches of the replacement Factor VIII and IX products were contaminated with deadly viruses.The infected blood inquiry estimates that 1,250 people with bleeding disorders in the UK developed both HIV and hepatitis C as a result, including 380 children. Around two-thirds later died of Aids-related illnesses. Some of those infected unintentionally gave HIV to their partners.Another 2,400 to 5,000 people developed Hepatitis C on its own, which can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. Calculating the exact number of people infected with Hepatitis C is difficult, partly because it can take decades for symptoms to appear.



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