The Tainted-Blood Scandal Lives On

[Guest guest]

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2004/NewsRev-44.html

The Tainted-Blood Scandal Lives On

Andre Picard

Public Health Reporter

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

Ten years ago, public hearings began into the tainted-blood tragedy, one of

Canada's most devastating public-health fiascos. About 2,000 hemophiliacs

and transfusion recipients contracted HIV-AIDS and another 10,000 or so were

infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from contaminated blood and blood

products.

In that decade, much has changed, thanks, in large part, to Mr. Justice

Horace Krever's searing dissection of what went wrong and his pointed

recommendations on how to make amends.

Canada has a new, better blood system. Health Canada takes its regulatory

function more seriously. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute has been

created. The Canadian Public Health Agency is under construction.

But, for the victims of tainted blood, has justice been done?

One of Judge Krever's central recommendations was that everyone who suffers

" serious adverse consequences from the administration of blood components or

blood products " -- past, present and future -- should receive financial

compensation. This no-fault approach, he said, was the surest, most

cost-efficient way to provide help to those who were harmed.

The veteran judge cautioned that the alternative -- using litigation to

determine who was wronged and to what degree, or creating compensation

programs for specific groups in a piecemeal fashion -- was a recipe for

disaster.

Yet this is precisely what happened. Compensation programs were created for

those infected with HIV-AIDS, and they were modified when there was too much

media attention or a worrisome lawsuit.

Then the forgotten victims -- those with HCV -- came along. This was the

group Judge Krever had in mind when he said no-fault was the way to go. But

governments were terrified by the number of potential claimants with HCV --

by some estimates at the time as many as 60,000.

Governments ignored Judge Krever's sage counsel and decided to compensate

people infected between 1986, when many U.S. blood banks started testing for

HCV, and 1990, when Canada actually began testing. This, despite the fact

that it became increasingly obvious that the cutoff dates were arbitrary: A

surrogate test for HCV was available as early as 1981 and there were still

some infections after testing was implemented in 1990.

It was a short-sighted, money-driven decision, eerily similar to the kind of

decisions that caused so many people to be infected by tainted blood in the

first place.

With much fanfare, and no small measure of hypocrisy, $1.1-billion was set

aside to settle lawsuits from 1986-90 victims. It was believed by then that

there were about 22,000 potential claimants, but that number is now thought

to be still lower.

Today, most of that money is sitting in a trust fund. So far, $265- million

in payments have been approved to claimants. The fund has probably generated

more than that from its investments, but we can only guess because even

basic information about how $1-billion in tax dollars is being disbursed is

a tightly guarded secret. Without a doubt, the biggest beneficiaries have

been lawyers, actuaries and accountants. In the first year of the program,

lawyers were paid $53- million, and administration fees topped $9-million.

There have been 8,851 applications for compensation approved, but probably

only a fraction of those are from victims infected by tainted blood, the

rest being family members and others. Again, the fund administrators refuse

to say for sure. Regardless, only a fraction of the expected 22,000

claimants in the 1986-90 period have come forward.

That tells us two things: There are likely only a few thousand other

potential claimants in the pre-1986/post-90 group, and there is plenty of

money available to compensate them.

What possible justification can there be to not do so? To date, Ontario,

Quebec, Manitoba and B.C. have come around and provided some compensation to

the HCV sufferers excluded from the settlement. But the inequities are

glaring. Why are Ontarians eligible for help, but not Nova Scotians?

Judge Krever made clear that the tainted-blood scandal had its roots in

prevarication, misplaced penny-pinching and a patronizing, secretive

attitude toward the public -- the victims in particular.

Sadly, those characteristics remain in the handling of the more than

$1-billion in blood money and, as a result, the tainted-blood scandal lives

on.

[Guest guest]

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2004/NewsRev-44.html

The Tainted-Blood Scandal Lives On

Andre Picard

Public Health Reporter

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

Ten years ago, public hearings began into the tainted-blood tragedy, one of

Canada's most devastating public-health fiascos. About 2,000 hemophiliacs

and transfusion recipients contracted HIV-AIDS and another 10,000 or so were

infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from contaminated blood and blood

products.

In that decade, much has changed, thanks, in large part, to Mr. Justice

Horace Krever's searing dissection of what went wrong and his pointed

recommendations on how to make amends.

Canada has a new, better blood system. Health Canada takes its regulatory

function more seriously. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute has been

created. The Canadian Public Health Agency is under construction.

But, for the victims of tainted blood, has justice been done?

One of Judge Krever's central recommendations was that everyone who suffers

" serious adverse consequences from the administration of blood components or

blood products " -- past, present and future -- should receive financial

compensation. This no-fault approach, he said, was the surest, most

cost-efficient way to provide help to those who were harmed.

The veteran judge cautioned that the alternative -- using litigation to

determine who was wronged and to what degree, or creating compensation

programs for specific groups in a piecemeal fashion -- was a recipe for

disaster.

Yet this is precisely what happened. Compensation programs were created for

those infected with HIV-AIDS, and they were modified when there was too much

media attention or a worrisome lawsuit.

Then the forgotten victims -- those with HCV -- came along. This was the

group Judge Krever had in mind when he said no-fault was the way to go. But

governments were terrified by the number of potential claimants with HCV --

by some estimates at the time as many as 60,000.

Governments ignored Judge Krever's sage counsel and decided to compensate

people infected between 1986, when many U.S. blood banks started testing for

HCV, and 1990, when Canada actually began testing. This, despite the fact

that it became increasingly obvious that the cutoff dates were arbitrary: A

surrogate test for HCV was available as early as 1981 and there were still

some infections after testing was implemented in 1990.

It was a short-sighted, money-driven decision, eerily similar to the kind of

decisions that caused so many people to be infected by tainted blood in the

first place.

With much fanfare, and no small measure of hypocrisy, $1.1-billion was set

aside to settle lawsuits from 1986-90 victims. It was believed by then that

there were about 22,000 potential claimants, but that number is now thought

to be still lower.

Today, most of that money is sitting in a trust fund. So far, $265- million

in payments have been approved to claimants. The fund has probably generated

more than that from its investments, but we can only guess because even

basic information about how $1-billion in tax dollars is being disbursed is

a tightly guarded secret. Without a doubt, the biggest beneficiaries have

been lawyers, actuaries and accountants. In the first year of the program,

lawyers were paid $53- million, and administration fees topped $9-million.

There have been 8,851 applications for compensation approved, but probably

only a fraction of those are from victims infected by tainted blood, the

rest being family members and others. Again, the fund administrators refuse

to say for sure. Regardless, only a fraction of the expected 22,000

claimants in the 1986-90 period have come forward.

That tells us two things: There are likely only a few thousand other

potential claimants in the pre-1986/post-90 group, and there is plenty of

money available to compensate them.

What possible justification can there be to not do so? To date, Ontario,

Quebec, Manitoba and B.C. have come around and provided some compensation to

the HCV sufferers excluded from the settlement. But the inequities are

glaring. Why are Ontarians eligible for help, but not Nova Scotians?

Judge Krever made clear that the tainted-blood scandal had its roots in

prevarication, misplaced penny-pinching and a patronizing, secretive

attitude toward the public -- the victims in particular.

Sadly, those characteristics remain in the handling of the more than

$1-billion in blood money and, as a result, the tainted-blood scandal lives

on.

[Guest guest]

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2004/NewsRev-44.html

The Tainted-Blood Scandal Lives On

Andre Picard

Public Health Reporter

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

Ten years ago, public hearings began into the tainted-blood tragedy, one of

Canada's most devastating public-health fiascos. About 2,000 hemophiliacs

and transfusion recipients contracted HIV-AIDS and another 10,000 or so were

infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from contaminated blood and blood

products.

In that decade, much has changed, thanks, in large part, to Mr. Justice

Horace Krever's searing dissection of what went wrong and his pointed

recommendations on how to make amends.

Canada has a new, better blood system. Health Canada takes its regulatory

function more seriously. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute has been

created. The Canadian Public Health Agency is under construction.

But, for the victims of tainted blood, has justice been done?

One of Judge Krever's central recommendations was that everyone who suffers

" serious adverse consequences from the administration of blood components or

blood products " -- past, present and future -- should receive financial

compensation. This no-fault approach, he said, was the surest, most

cost-efficient way to provide help to those who were harmed.

The veteran judge cautioned that the alternative -- using litigation to

determine who was wronged and to what degree, or creating compensation

programs for specific groups in a piecemeal fashion -- was a recipe for

disaster.

Yet this is precisely what happened. Compensation programs were created for

those infected with HIV-AIDS, and they were modified when there was too much

media attention or a worrisome lawsuit.

Then the forgotten victims -- those with HCV -- came along. This was the

group Judge Krever had in mind when he said no-fault was the way to go. But

governments were terrified by the number of potential claimants with HCV --

by some estimates at the time as many as 60,000.

Governments ignored Judge Krever's sage counsel and decided to compensate

people infected between 1986, when many U.S. blood banks started testing for

HCV, and 1990, when Canada actually began testing. This, despite the fact

that it became increasingly obvious that the cutoff dates were arbitrary: A

surrogate test for HCV was available as early as 1981 and there were still

some infections after testing was implemented in 1990.

It was a short-sighted, money-driven decision, eerily similar to the kind of

decisions that caused so many people to be infected by tainted blood in the

first place.

With much fanfare, and no small measure of hypocrisy, $1.1-billion was set

aside to settle lawsuits from 1986-90 victims. It was believed by then that

there were about 22,000 potential claimants, but that number is now thought

to be still lower.

Today, most of that money is sitting in a trust fund. So far, $265- million

in payments have been approved to claimants. The fund has probably generated

more than that from its investments, but we can only guess because even

basic information about how $1-billion in tax dollars is being disbursed is

a tightly guarded secret. Without a doubt, the biggest beneficiaries have

been lawyers, actuaries and accountants. In the first year of the program,

lawyers were paid $53- million, and administration fees topped $9-million.

There have been 8,851 applications for compensation approved, but probably

only a fraction of those are from victims infected by tainted blood, the

rest being family members and others. Again, the fund administrators refuse

to say for sure. Regardless, only a fraction of the expected 22,000

claimants in the 1986-90 period have come forward.

That tells us two things: There are likely only a few thousand other

potential claimants in the pre-1986/post-90 group, and there is plenty of

money available to compensate them.

What possible justification can there be to not do so? To date, Ontario,

Quebec, Manitoba and B.C. have come around and provided some compensation to

the HCV sufferers excluded from the settlement. But the inequities are

glaring. Why are Ontarians eligible for help, but not Nova Scotians?

Judge Krever made clear that the tainted-blood scandal had its roots in

prevarication, misplaced penny-pinching and a patronizing, secretive

attitude toward the public -- the victims in particular.

Sadly, those characteristics remain in the handling of the more than

$1-billion in blood money and, as a result, the tainted-blood scandal lives

on.

[Guest guest]

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2004/NewsRev-44.html

The Tainted-Blood Scandal Lives On

Andre Picard

Public Health Reporter

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

Ten years ago, public hearings began into the tainted-blood tragedy, one of

Canada's most devastating public-health fiascos. About 2,000 hemophiliacs

and transfusion recipients contracted HIV-AIDS and another 10,000 or so were

infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from contaminated blood and blood

products.

In that decade, much has changed, thanks, in large part, to Mr. Justice

Horace Krever's searing dissection of what went wrong and his pointed

recommendations on how to make amends.

Canada has a new, better blood system. Health Canada takes its regulatory

function more seriously. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute has been

created. The Canadian Public Health Agency is under construction.

But, for the victims of tainted blood, has justice been done?

One of Judge Krever's central recommendations was that everyone who suffers

" serious adverse consequences from the administration of blood components or

blood products " -- past, present and future -- should receive financial

compensation. This no-fault approach, he said, was the surest, most

cost-efficient way to provide help to those who were harmed.

The veteran judge cautioned that the alternative -- using litigation to

determine who was wronged and to what degree, or creating compensation

programs for specific groups in a piecemeal fashion -- was a recipe for

disaster.

Yet this is precisely what happened. Compensation programs were created for

those infected with HIV-AIDS, and they were modified when there was too much

media attention or a worrisome lawsuit.

Then the forgotten victims -- those with HCV -- came along. This was the

group Judge Krever had in mind when he said no-fault was the way to go. But

governments were terrified by the number of potential claimants with HCV --

by some estimates at the time as many as 60,000.

Governments ignored Judge Krever's sage counsel and decided to compensate

people infected between 1986, when many U.S. blood banks started testing for

HCV, and 1990, when Canada actually began testing. This, despite the fact

that it became increasingly obvious that the cutoff dates were arbitrary: A

surrogate test for HCV was available as early as 1981 and there were still

some infections after testing was implemented in 1990.

It was a short-sighted, money-driven decision, eerily similar to the kind of

decisions that caused so many people to be infected by tainted blood in the

first place.

With much fanfare, and no small measure of hypocrisy, $1.1-billion was set

aside to settle lawsuits from 1986-90 victims. It was believed by then that

there were about 22,000 potential claimants, but that number is now thought

to be still lower.

Today, most of that money is sitting in a trust fund. So far, $265- million

in payments have been approved to claimants. The fund has probably generated

more than that from its investments, but we can only guess because even

basic information about how $1-billion in tax dollars is being disbursed is

a tightly guarded secret. Without a doubt, the biggest beneficiaries have

been lawyers, actuaries and accountants. In the first year of the program,

lawyers were paid $53- million, and administration fees topped $9-million.

There have been 8,851 applications for compensation approved, but probably

only a fraction of those are from victims infected by tainted blood, the

rest being family members and others. Again, the fund administrators refuse

to say for sure. Regardless, only a fraction of the expected 22,000

claimants in the 1986-90 period have come forward.

That tells us two things: There are likely only a few thousand other

potential claimants in the pre-1986/post-90 group, and there is plenty of

money available to compensate them.

What possible justification can there be to not do so? To date, Ontario,

Quebec, Manitoba and B.C. have come around and provided some compensation to

the HCV sufferers excluded from the settlement. But the inequities are

glaring. Why are Ontarians eligible for help, but not Nova Scotians?

Judge Krever made clear that the tainted-blood scandal had its roots in

prevarication, misplaced penny-pinching and a patronizing, secretive

attitude toward the public -- the victims in particular.

Sadly, those characteristics remain in the handling of the more than

$1-billion in blood money and, as a result, the tainted-blood scandal lives

on.