'Thousands' could have been infected by tainted blood... and STILL not know it. So what are the hidden signs to look out for and how can you get tested?

'Thousands' could have been infected by tainted blood...

and STILL not know it. So what are the hidden signs to look out for and how can you get tested? READ MORE: What is the infected blood scandal? MailOnline explains By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 12:41 BST, 20 May 2024 | Updated: 12:45 BST, 20 May 2024 e-mail View comments Thousands of Brits are known to have been killed or have suffered due to the infected blood scandal, labelled the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS . But hundreds more, mostly women, are thought to unknowingly be living with the consequences of the scandal to this day.

Some infected with hepatitis C as a result of receiving tainted blood have only learnt they were infected after the virus has ravaged their livers, leaving them with life-limited damage. Charities have warned they are, on average, helping two people each month who have only just learned they were infected decades ago. Back in the 70s, 80s thousands of men, women and children were given blood products that, unbeknownst to them, were contaminated with HIV or and/or hepatitis C.

Demonstrators pictured holding placards in London in July 2023 when PM Rishi Sunak was questioned by Infected Blood Inquiry These tainted donations came from US prisoners, sex workers and drug addicts, who were paid to give their blood to the manufacturers of the product. Around 30,000 patients in Britain are known to have been given unsafe blood products in the 1970s and .