Documents unearthed by campaign group Factor VIII, as well as files submitted to the Infected Blood Inquiry have unearthed a long-running project to run research projects on haemophiliacs.
Victims say that doctors ran experiments to determine the risk of infection from imported Factor VIII and continued to run these studies even when aware of the links to heightened infection risk.
Jason Evans, the director of the campaign group, found notes alluding to the research in his father’s medical records, where the Factor VIII prescription was accompanied with a scribble that said “Dr Craske’s Research Work”.
Mr Evans’ father died in 1993 after being infected with both HIV and hepatitis C during the course of his treatment for haemophilia.
John Craske was the head virologist at the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) during the scandal and published research on the risk of hepatitis from Factor VIII.
At a meeting of leading haemophilia doctors in 1974, he started a project to study rates of hepatitis at different haemophilia centres across the UK and what drug was causing it. In 1975, this was expanded to include hepatitis B.
The hepatitis experiments lasted into the early 1980s when the scandal escalated further with the emergence of HIV.
Around 1,250 haemophiliacs would go on to contract HIV from Factor VIII.