The Infected Blood Scandal is the worst public health failure in Australian history. From the late 1970's to the early 1990's, it is estimated that tens of thousands of Australian patients including 1750 Haemophiliacs, were exposed to blood and blood products contaminated with HIV and Hepatitis C.

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Infected blood victims are not isolated to patients with a poor prognosis who would have died without an urgent transfusion, they are from all walks of life and include all demographics. Men, women and children have had their lives destroyed and an even worse tragedy is that it is intergenerational due to the transmission of infected blood from spouses and or mothers to their children. 

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The problems facing surviving victims of contaminated blood and their loved ones are manifold including death, chronic comorbidities, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, financial hardship and discrimination.

In 2004 an Australian Senate Committee made a number of recommendations in response to Australia's infected blood scandal. It included formulating and delivering an apology to victims and their families, improving service delivery and most crucially, funding treatment expenses and providing home care and home nursing for victims. The senate also made recommendations for the provision of alternative medical treatment. None of these recommendations were ever implemented and the suffering  and death continues. The only way forward now is to have a Royal Commission of inquiry to examine the actions and decisions that ruined the lives of so many individuals and families and for all those infected and affected to be compensated.