Victims of a past blood contamination scandal warned yesterday that lessons had not been learned after it emerged that 24 Britons may have been given tainted transfusions by the US military.
Those affected – 18 soldiers and six civilian contractors – were seriously wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and received emergency blood sourced from the Americans.
They are now undergoing HIV and hepatitis tests following revelations that the US mi
litary did not follow their own procedures and test the donors after they gave the blood.
The US Department of Defence said the American donors who provided the blood had now all tested negative for hepatitis and HIV.
Defence Secretary Des Browne said yesterday the Government was taking the matter "extremely seriously" .
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Browne said: "First of all I should stress that the blood transfusions saved these people's lives.
"However even though a small number of personnel, 18 in total are affected, and the risks of infection are very low, we are taking this matter extremely seriously."
He added: "Immediately on learning about the risk to our people my Department acted quickly and promptly to establish who might be involved, where those people were and ensure they were offered the appropriate support, the appropriate counselling and testing."
He said that all 18 UK personnel, whether still serving or now veterans, had been contacted.
However, representatives of the thousands of haemophiliacs infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood in the late 1970s and 1980s condemned the blunder as an "absolute disgrace".
Robert Mackie said it was "outrageous" that servicemen and women who risked their lives for their country had been put in this position.
He said: "Attitudes have not changed, it is as simple as that. Lessons have not been learnt. It's an absolute disgrace, to say the least."
Mr Mackie, who lives in the Scottish Borders, near Edinburgh, is a haemophiliac who contracted HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood, probably in the 1980s.
He said: "It is outrageous. These young servicemen and women are serving their country in a dangerous situation.
"It is just ridiculous that after receiving medical care their lives are being risked again."
The secretary of Tainted Blood, Andrew Evans, whose group campaigns on behalf of those infected by contaminated transfusions, is also a haemophiliac and was infected with hepatitis C and HIV when he was just five.
He said: "It just seems to be that nobody has learnt from past mistakes and that history is repeating itself yet again.
"It is only a matter of time before we have another disaster on the scale that the haemophiliacs had to endure back in the late 1970s and 1980s."
The chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, Chris James, also said yesterday it was "extremely worrying" that British soldiers had been exposed to an "unacceptable" risk of contracting infections.
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