Infected blood: advice for patients

If you think you or a family member think you/they may have been affected by infected blood (if you/they had a blood transfusion, blood products or an organ transplant before September 1991) you can access support at https://nhs.uk/infected-blood-support

Given the time that has elapsed since the last use of infected blood products, most of those who were directly affected have been identified and started appropriate treatment. However, there may be a small number of patients where this is not the case, and particularly where they are living with asymptomatic hepatitis C.

For the families, patients and our wider community who have been impacted by this scandal the NHS offers our unreserved apology and sympathies for the avoidable suffering, pain and loss that they and their families have experienced following the supply and use of infected blood products in the NHS.

What to do if you have a health concern related to infected blood

If you are concerned about a possible hepatitis C infection, you can book a home NHS test online. The tests are free and confidential. To receive a self-testing kit which can be quickly dispatched to your home visit hepctest.nhs.uk.

Hepatitis B is also linked to infected blood, this usually clears up on its own without treatment, but could develop into chronic hepatitis B.  Patients can find out more information here – hepatitis B information

HIV testing is also provided to anyone free of charge on the NHS.  Home testing and home sampling kits are also available.  You can find out more about HIV testing and the HIV testing services search tool on the NHS website.

What are current arrangements for managing donated blood?

Since 1991, all blood donated in the UK is screened and distributed by NHS Blood and Transplant following rigorous safety standards and testing to protect both donors and patients.

Since testing has been introduced, the risk of getting an infection from a blood transfusion or blood products is very low. 

All blood donors are screened at every donation and every donation is tested before it is sent to hospitals. Blood services and blood safety has been transformed, not only in terms of technological advances in testing but also in the way donors are recruited and checked they are safe to donate.

Blood is now distributed to NHS hospitals by NHS Blood and Transplant, which was established in 2005 to provide a national blood and transplantation service to the NHS. 

Modern safety standards are extremely rigorous and NHS Blood and Transplant services follow strict guidelines and testing to protect both donors and patients, and are subject to regular inspections by independent regulators.

Patients who want more details about the safety of blood from donations in England can find more information here: https://www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/further-information/your-safety/