Bad Blood: The Unspeakable Truth

Tens of thousands of people around the world who had transfusions in the early 1980s were infected with preventable hepatitis. About a ten thousand also received blood products contaminated with HIV. Over half of those people have since died of AIDS. The first and the hardest hit were hemophiliacs and their families. The blood they depended on for a normal life proved to be an agent of their death. They were the red flag, warning that something had gone horribly wrong.

The story continues almost 40 years later. In Bad Blood: The Unspeakable Truth, author Vic Parsons sets his compelling analysis of the Canadian blood system against the heartbreaking stories of those touched by this tragedy. He writes with a terrible and personal authority: his hemophiliac son is still infected with HIV but has since been cured of Hepatitis C that he also contracted through tainted blood. He now lives with his family in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a lucky one as only 3% of those infected with HIV and Hep C are alive today.

Bad Blood raises many serious and disturbing questions. Did the American and Canadian Red Cross have the public's best interests at heart, or were they more concerned with avoiding lawsuits or furthering their careers? Did Justice Horace Krever's inquiry into the scandal prevent future tragedies? Is the compensation that continues to be paid to affected Canadians enough? Why did Government Ministers and senior members of the Departments of Health treat the crisis with such skepticism leading to inaction and death. But an even bigger question, looms. Why was no one convicted of any crimes associated with distributing known tainted blood products in Canada, the hardest hit of all countries infected.

In 2006 a trial began in Canada. The defendants were Roger Perrault, in his former capacity as national director of the blood transfusion service of the Red Cross; Wark Boucher and John Furesz, of the federal government’s Bureau of Biologics; and Michael Rodell, medical director of U.S.-based Armour Pharmaceuticals. Armour also found itself has a defendant. Convictions were obtained in France and Japan but they all walked away, scot free. How? It is in the book.

In May of 2019 the British Government has just commenced their inquiry some 35 years after the problem was identified. Where did this bad blood come from? Well it appears much of it came from the prison systems in the state or Arkansas when then Governor Bill Clinton presided. The producers of the tainted blood products include well known household names in America. Baxter, Cutter, Armour and Miles Pharmaceutical were all part of a network of manufacturers that dealt with plasma and other blood products that Hemophiliacs and surgical patients relied on. The practices for collecting prisoner blood in the US will once again be in the spotlight.

Bad Blood is fascinating reading for everyone interested in the responsibilities of Government and the agencies under them to serve the interests of the public. This international grand malfeasance is a grim reminder of how citizens are often hopeless in their pursuit of justice and compensation. Also, anyone involved in public health matters on either side of the American and Canadian border will find this an informative and compelling story of death and hope.

Look for Unspeakable, The 8 part docudrama that aired on Sundance TV in the United States and CBC in Canada. Winners of 4 LEO Awards June 2019, including Best Dramatic Series. It is now playing in countries around the world and is in part based on Bad Blood, The Unspeakable Truth.