The UK Infected Blood Inquiry report was published in May 2024 after 6 years of taking oral and written evidence from patients, clinicians, blood services, government officials, and politicians about the transmission of infection by blood transfusion to thousands of patients in the 1970s through to the 1990s. The same problems with transfusion-transmitted infection occurred in many other countries in the same period, but their reviews, inquiries, and decisions about compensation occurred many years earlier than in the United Kingdom. The publication of the report has been welcomed but begs 2 important questions. Why was the inquiry so delayed in the United Kingdom? And why did it take so long to report? Furthermore, the report itself deserves scrutiny. What were its findings and lessons learned? How will the findings be implemented, and what are the implications, if any, for other countries?
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April 10, 2025
The United Kingdom Infected Blood Inquiry: its findings and lessons for the future of transfusion
Michael F. Murphy,
Michael F. Murphy
1NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, United Kingdom
2Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
3University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Susan R. Brailsford,
Susan R. Brailsford
1NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, United Kingdom
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David J. Roberts
David J. Roberts
1NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, United Kingdom
2Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
3University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Blood (2025) 145 (15): 1601–1609.
Article history
Submitted:
December 11, 2024
Accepted:
January 31, 2025
First Edition:
February 12, 2025
Citation
Michael F. Murphy, Susan R. Brailsford, David J. Roberts; The United Kingdom Infected Blood Inquiry: its findings and lessons for the future of transfusion. Blood 2025; 145 (15): 1601–1609. doi: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2024025976
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April 10 2025
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