New Documents: Outrage of child Lab Rats in Infected Blood Scandal Deepens
New documents released today by Factor 8 reveal harrowing details about secret and unethical medical trials conducted on children at the Lord Mayor Treloar School in the early 1970s. These documents show the government knew of plans to use young children, some as young as seven, as subjects in high-risk medical trials involving deadly hepatitis-infected treatments.
The trials centred around the administration of a haemophilia medication, Factor VIII concentrate, which was contaminated with lethal hepatitis viruses. According to the documents, children were either administered a "hepatitis-free" placebo or the contaminated Factor VIII concentrate. The plans note informed consent will be needed, yet victims and parents of victims have uniformly testified to the Infected Blood Inquiry that they were completely unaware of the trials.
Who would knowingly allow their child to enter such a cruel experiment?
The implications are profound and disturbing: every child at the school who received the contaminated Factor VIII concentrate became infected with hepatitis, an outcome that has had lifelong health repercussions for the survivors and led to many deaths. The newly released documents suggest governmental oversight and collaboration that goes beyond previous understandings of the scandal.
These revelations add a darker dimension to an already grim story that was reported on by the BBC last week. The BBC's initial report detailed the plight of former students who had been unwittingly drawn into similair trials, many of whom suffered severe health consequences as a result of their involuntary participation.
Factor 8 has been at the forefront of advocating for justice and accountability for all victims of the infected blood scandal. Today's document release underscores our commitment to help in exposing the full scope of injustices within the infected blood scandal.
Jason Evans (Director of Factor 8) said: "The depth of depravity here is appalling". "These were children, placed in a school that was supposed to protect and educate them, not use them as test subjects in dangerous medical experiments."
As the public and regulatory bodies digest the gravity of these new findings, the overarching narrative continues to evolve. What is clear, however, is that the victims of the Lord Mayor Treloar School trials have suffered immeasurably. The path toward healing and justice remains fraught with challenges, but with each new revelation, there is renewed hope for closure and accountability with the Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report due for publication on Monday 20th May.
Factor 8 has published the full document set here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tg9rvf7k5mqahgsvz965n/Treloar-Trial.pdf?rlkey=fdt03loaukxp3uhggjh6vl8ct&dl=0
