Contaminated blood scandal: NHS 'wilfully hid blood contamination from me'
A man who contracted hepatitis C from a contaminated blood transfusion as a boy says he cannot believe the NHS "wilfully" hid it from him.
Rob Brown, from Wiltshire, was 10 when he was given a blood transfusion after his appendix was removed in July 1974.
He was finally diagnosed in 2006 but only recently found records from the time showing he had "hepatitis following blood transfusions".
Mr Brown said: "It was there in black and white, dated 1975. They knew then."
More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products sourced from the United States during the 1970s and 1980s.
In total, it is thought about 2,900 people have died as a result of the scandal.
A public inquiry into what has been called the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history will announce its findings in May.
Mr Brown, now 60 and living in Chippenham, was 10 when he became very ill after having his appendix removed in July 1974.
"Every day I was having more and more bloods, and that went on for two months or so," he said.
"It was just non-stop. I'd have three, sometimes four drips coming into me at any one time."
In the years following, Mr Brown said he had used a wheelchair and always felt exhausted.
But it was not until three decades later, at the age of 43, he learned he had hepatitis C when his doctor called and asked to see him urgently.
He said: "I was like, this is a dream. This is not real."
After he was told about his diagnosis, he started requesting his medical records but was told "no one could find them".
Recently, he said he was "overwhelmed" to discover more than 950 pages of his medical papers.
"Previously I'd been told [they] had been destroyed," he said.
"They clearly state 'Rob had viral hepatitis following blood transfusions' and they've said it in black and white and more than once."
He said he felt "really bitter" doctors knew at the time but had not told him.
"No one told me. I went from 1974 to 2006 with no idea," he said.
"I just couldn't believe that someone - the NHS - had wilfully hidden all this information from me."
Mr Brown said he had endured "50 years of constant pain" and had been left with irreversible liver damage as a result.
"They knew that they had done this," he said.
"They may not have known the full side effect back in 1974, but they knew hepatitis wasn't a good thing."
The UK-wide infected blood inquiry is due to publish its report on 20 May.
A government spokesperson said: "This was an appalling tragedy, and our thoughts remain with all those impacted."
The spokesperson said the government had consistently accepted the moral case for compensation.
"We will continue to listen carefully to those infected and affected about how we address this dreadful scandal," they added.
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