Scottish Labour and the Glasgow Yorkhill infected blood scandal

According to the Guardian in April 2024, cheap infected blood products based on blood from Arkansas prisoners began to be used across the UK after the Labour Government, in 1976, signed the deal, despite warnings from experts.

Today, BBC Scotland repeats:

One area where Scotland differed from the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of infections came from its own blood donations. In the 1970s and 80s, the country was largely self-sufficient in blood products.

and you have to read on to find:

Although most of the blood used in Scotland was from Scottish donations, the exception was Yorkhill hospital in Glasgow where children were treated for haemophilia. They regularly received plasma products sourced from paid donors in the United States that were known to be high risk. Most of the children were infected with HIV or hepatitis C by the age of five. Some went on to develop AIDS. Their families want to know why clinicians chose American products ahead of Scottish blood and why there were delays to the introduction of heat treatment.

Yorkhill continued to use the infected supply until 1984, after other hospitals had stopped, and according to BBC Scotland in July 2019.

Euan McDougall was diagnosed with HIV in 1985, aged almost eight. Mr McDougall wept as he told how his son suffered bouts of paralysis and gradually went blind before dying in January 1994. On attempting to access his son’s medical records, he was told there was no trace of them. He said: “The hospital records disappeared, and are gone, are destroyed.” Mr McDougall said he wanted to know why Yorkhill continued using American Factor VIII when elsewhere in Scotland its use had stopped, and he also questioned when heat-treated products had started being produced.

Who might have, at an early stage, have acted on behalf of these folk in Yorkhill? Did they have MPs and councillors back then? These days, write to these politicians and they can be quite effective in pushing institutions and organisations to do something.

Which party might that have been?

Labour MPs and a Labour city council, throughout the blood scandal and for decades before it but they did FA because they were told what to do by London Labour HQ as they are today.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/27/revealed-government-was-warned-of-infected-blood-risks-in-1970s

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-48850969

4 thoughts on “Scottish Labour and the Glasgow Yorkhill infected blood scandal

  1. And are still controlled by their London masters today. As are the Tories and LibDems. Over years of canvassing, either for Independence, or the S.N.P, it still baffles me as to why any Scot would vote for a political party controlled by another country.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “...it still baffles me as to why any Scot would vote for a political party controlled by another country

      It’s more than possible that many of them don’t know.

      They hardly advertise the fact. In fact Sarwar’s ‘rebellions’ seem designed to cover it up.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I was aware blood drives were highly successful in Scotland at the time, and BTS had it’s own facility for blood ‘products’ in Edinburgh (?), but what independent and verifiable evidence is there for BBC Scotland claiming ” One area where Scotland differed from the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of infections came from its own blood donations ” ?

    However grateful we must be after 50 years of cover-ups by the UK’s political/media apparatus that this damning report has finally seen the light of day, pardon my suspicions all is not what it seems.

    • The Yorkhill example purports that they and only they had a dedicated supply of plasma from the same BTS facility which supplied ALL bloods and products in Scotland – This makes no sense whatever – Only were an experiment being conducted would such a dedicated stream be allocated, which opens a whole new can of worms.

    My hunch is with Indy support continuing to rise in Scotland whilst belief in UK politics is plummeting in England, the political/media gaslighting has been turned up to limit the political damage.

    Liked by 2 people

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