The father of a 10-year-old boy who died after being given contaminated blood has said he struggles to remember his son as an inquiry into the scandal continues tomorrow.
On Monday Colin Turton and his wife Denise are due to reveal how their son Lee contracted HIV and Hepatitis C after a transfusion of Factor VIII blood.
Colin said: “I’m losing my memory badly, which upsets me when I try and think about our past.”
Haemophiliac Lee died from AIDS in 1992 after he was given infected blood during his treatment.
The Infected Blood Inquiry continues in London on Monday, investigating the use of contaminated blood products in the 70s and 80s that led to at least 1,246 deaths.
Mr Turton, from Bristol, said: “We owe it to our son and to those who have lost their lives to try and do our bit to get the truth”.
Sue Threakall, whose husband Bob died in 1991 after contracting HIV from infected blood, said: “We need answers that will finally tell the world how an entire generation of Haemophiliacs had their lives decimated.”
She added: “We, as a group, have been manipulated by a succession of cruel and uncaring governments who have been determined to hide the truth...truth that I hope this inquiry will finally uncover.”
Hearings will continue in London until November this year before breaking.
More evidence will then be heard in February 2020 from the Infected Blood Inquiry’s “Independent Experts”.
It is understood a full report into the scandal will not be published for several years.
