US hemophiliacs had the “Hemophilia Holocaust” recognised years ago so why are UK govt and Opposition still in denial over UK litigants that are part of this holocaust?
(Some litigants were also infected and affected partners)
(Image Hemophilia Federation of America)
Open letter to Nick Brown MP (Independent) dated 14th January 2024
Dear Nick, (The right to official recognition of UK victims Infected and Affected due to “dumped treatment” that are part of the US “Hemophilia Holocaust” treatment scandal ..US spelling)
In case you are not aware, I was part of the American 2nd Generation Litigation cases in relation to the use of US factor concentrate products supplied by 4 US pharmaceutical companies. This was treatment deemed not fit for use in the US on the grounds of safety so it was exported around the world. These cases came to be known as the “dumped treatment” cases.
Around 2001, my late husband Pete and I worked very hard to set up contact with a US legal firm called Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann and Bernstein in San Francisco who accepted Pete’s case. We asked if others could join the litigation and the firm agreed to take on around another 300 cases of UK haemophiliacs, infected and bereaved partners that had received US treatment including my campaign colleague Colette Wintle. After extensive scrutiny of medical records and factor concentrate treatment batch numbers by our lawyers and the pharma company lawyers, those who had the RELEVANT EVIDENCE were officially accepted by these 4 companies and an agreement was reached around 2009. In the case of some litigants such as Pete, the plasma collected and pooled to manufacture factor concentrates was traced back to individual infected and named US prison donors with HIV/HCV. It only took one infected donor to infect a plasma pool. UK haemophiliacs went from receiving UK cryoprecipitate made from single or handful of well screened volunteer donors to plasma pools containing donations from as high as 400,000 paid donors. The donors were often classed as “high-risk” donors such as prisoners, prostitutes, homosexuals, drug users and donors living on “skid-row”. See reference to the case here,
Although we were LEGALLY ACCEPTED, the case was termed to be “forum non conveniens” (not the right venue) by a US judge when UK haemophiliacs attended the US court. The “first line of duty of care” for UK haemophiliacs was deemed to rest with the UK government who must now pay compensation to victims. We can’t go into detail other than what is publicly known due to a silence clause. The judge ruled no further UK cases could go to the US courts and the cases were officially closed some years ago with an agreement with the pharmas.
The infection of haemophiliacs with US products was not called the contaminated or infected blood scandal in the US but the “Hemophilia Holocaust” by lawyers and litigants. The dumped treatment cases are part of that which is a far more appropriate name reflecting the severity of what was PROVEN to be done to haemophiliacs in this litigation and one that most of the public can easily understand in an instant. The term “holocaust” is defined as “destruction or slaughter on a mass scale”. Colette and I stress the importance of our US cases being referred to under the correct term “Hemophilia Holocaust. We are talking about a finite group of around 300 UK cases that took part in the US litigation. In 2018, UK journalist Ian Birrell wrote,
In the United States they call it ‘the haemophilia holocaust’ after use of tainted blood products wiped out thousands of people with the blood disorder.
It is important to note that key safety measures were ignored in the US and the treatment was introduced BEFORE working on a way to virally inactivate. It was done the wrong way round, profit before safety! Working on viral inactivation for hepatitis as warned by experts in the 1960s should have come FIRST for safety reasons even if it meant delaying the introduction of factor concentrates by years such was the KNOWN dangers of using pooled plasma for this treatment.
Just to point out that the term “Hemophilia Holocaust” refers to all those who received US products as American haemophiliacs and that is extended to those abroad given the SAME US products! Since the Infected Blood Inquiry began I have instructed my lawyers to obtain the US legal depositions which have been submitted to the Inquiry and were used in US haemophilia cases and our US dumped treatment cases.
Using appropriate terminology is particularly important to victims when it comes to truth, justice and compensation. I fully accept the atrocious Holocaust of the 2nd World War, I was brought up reading holocaust literature (thanks to my mother) and have visited Auschwitz and other memorial sites across Europe but there are other holocausts that must ALSO be remembered before and after the Holocaust of the 2nd World War. I have discussed this in previous articles. You can’t cherry pick which holocausts you accept or deny, a holocaust is a holocaust and when it comes to the percentage of any population harmed and killed, our holocaust is very high! I went to Auschwitz to remember all those who were harmed and died in the most horrific ways. I also wanted to learn about the shocking experiments of Dr Mengele as I had come across disturbing experiments on our own haemophiliacs without informed consent and against the Nuremberg Code and wanted to examine the trials in that context.
When we met Anne Milton in 2010, we took evidence asking her to remove the words “inadvertent infection” which she did. This terminology was WRONGLY used by successive governments for decades as their form of “damage limitation” however I obtained copies of incriminating evidence including minutes showing government officials were present at meetings when experimentation on haemophiliacs was discussed. Just to say also not all evidence from the Infected Blood Inquiry is in the public domain, some is only accessible through a website called Relativity which we as “core participants” can view and is password protected.
I attach 2 photos of Committee of Ten Thousand COTT demonstrations highlighting the Hemophilia Holocaust. I attach also a photo of an award I accepted, the “Action Equals Life” human rights award from COTT in 2009 on behalf of Pete and I on Capitol Hill Washington DC alongside the esteemed Dr Don Francis (former CDC, Centre for Disease Control) and the greatly respected Dr Jay Epstein (Former FDA, Food and Drug Administration).
Our Hemophilia Holocaust has long been denied here, no government officials ever refer to the dumped treatment cases or the Hemophilia Holocaust, it is most disturbing, as if it never happened!
Although there is no specific law in this country that directly refers to “holocaust denial”, cases of denial have been prosecuted under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2023.
In conclusion, I ask you to,
- Please approach government to ensure that there is official government recognition and public acceptance of UK victims Infected and Affected of the US Hemophilia Holocaust (using this terminology) that had dumped treatment litigation cases legally accepted by the 4 US pharmaceutical companies.
- Please work with government to ensure that those UK victims Infected and Affected harmed during the Hemophilia Holocaust are included in the UK Holocaust Memorial Bill
- Please work with government to ensure that UK victims Infected and Affected are included in Holocaust Memorial Day events.
With thanks for your help.
Kind Regards
Carol Grayson
Address and Telephone number supplied
Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She was a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.
