Yahoo News Blood scandal campaigner pays tribute to retiring 'lone voice' Lord Owen who was 'on the right side of history'
A longstanding contaminated blood campaigner has paid tribute to the work of Lord Owen, who announced he would step back from sitting in the House of Lords last month.
Carol Grayson, of Jesmond, has spent decades fighting for justice for her family and thousands of others infected and affected by the scandal - which saw many given blood products tainted with viruses including HIV and hepatitis C on the NHS. Haemophiliacs - such as Carol's husband Peter Longstaff and his brother Stephen - were gravely affected, with others receiving lethal tainted blood transfusions, too.
Often described as the NHS's worst ever treatment disaster, upwards of 3,000 people have died and continue to do so on a weekly basis. Sir Brian Langstaff delivered his comprehensive 2,500+ page report following the independent Infected Blood Inquiry in May- and found how authorities had sought to "hide the truth".
READ MORE:Bikes seized at Sunderland dwelling as police work to reunite suspected stolen goods with owners
Lord Owen was one leading politician who was vocal about the need to recognise what had gone wrong and to provide redress - even giving an interview to The Journal in 2001.
In it, the former Health Secretary broke his silence on the topic after decades and told of how: "It is one of the few things that has continued to anger me ever since. I can't believe that such a terrible thing should have happened, destroying the lives of so many people, and all these years later it has still not been resolved."
Lord Owen had been in office in 1975 and said the UK should become self-sufficient in its blood supply within 18 months. This would have reduced the risk posed by blood products (thought not eliminated it). However, it did not happen for many years - and campaigners like Carol and Peter showed how imported blood products from the USA, which could be traced to specific prisons and even specific donors, contained the lethal viruses.
Paying tribute to Lord Owen, Carol said: "Our dear friend Lord David Owen, a long time campaigner for truth and justice with regard to the contaminated blood scandal has officially retired from the House of Lords. Back in the 1970s when Owen was a minister at the Department of Health and Social Security (1974-1976) he made a commitment with funding for the UK to become self- sufficient in blood products.
"He was against the importation of blood from America. As a medical doctor himself, he realised the dangers associated with paying for blood which often attracted 'high-risk' donors in the US. The UK used only volunteer donors and had a much tighter screening process thus minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
"As an MP, one of Owen’s constituents had haemophilia an inherited blood clotting disorder, so when he discovered haemophiliacs had been given factor concentrates from the US and had become infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses, he wrote to government and to the Ombudsman alleging 'maladministration' and wanting answers.
"He was shocked to learn his commitment to self -sufficiency had been delayed once he left office and that many of his documents when he was health minister had been inexplicably pulped."
Carol also reflected on Lord Owen's more recent work. She said: "In 2001, the Newcastle Journal brought Lord Owen to the forefront again when he was interviewed by Louella Houldcroft at the request of Peter and myself, who had jointly set up the Bad Blood campaign with the paper."
She continued by saying she would "always be grateful" for the peer's support and reference when she was awarded the Michael Young Prize for her own research which highlighted fatal flaws in a Government report into blood product "self-sufficiency".
Carol added: "Government should recognize and officially acknowledge the key and important role Lord Owen has made to promoting blood safety and being on the right side of history. My campaign colleague Colette Wintle and I wish him a happy and healthy retirement and express our gratitude for his many years of support to the haemophilia community."
