Ireland Announces Compensation Package for Hemophiliacs Who Contracted HIV From Contaminated Blood Products
Irish Health Minister Michael Martin and the Irish Hemophilia Society on Thursday announced a $90 million deal to compensate
hemophiliacs who contracted HIV from state-provided contaminated blood products, the Associated Press reports. The deal, which Martin said will "end a major trauma in Irish life," comes more than 10 years after advocates for hemophiliacs began lobbying for compensation. Nearly half of Ireland's 500 hemophiliacs contracted HIV or hepatitis C from the blood supply in the mid-1980s, and 76 have died. The Associated Press reports that successive governments have denied responsibility for the inadequate screenings used by the nation's blood supply board, which obtained most of its blood from U.S. suppliers, and a judicial investigation of the matter has been ongoing for the last three years. The deal, which is expected to be endorsed by Parliament, will give hemophiliacs with HIV or the families of hemophiliacs who died of AIDS-related complications the right to apply for damages through a tribunal already established to compensate people who contracted hepatitis C (Pogatchnik, Associated Press, 4/11).
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
