No payout for Newport Aids boy's tragic death (From South Wales Argus)

No payout for Newport Aids boy's tragic death

12:50pm Wednesday 27th May 2009 in Search By Ben Frampton

A NEWPORT mother whose seven-year-old son died of AIDS after receiving blood infected with HIV from an American prisoner said her family are "devastated" after learning they aren't entitled to compensation.

Janet Smith's son, Colin Junior, a haemophiliac, died in January 1990 after contracting HIV from infected blood.

He was diagnosed with the virus when he was just two years old and his mother, of Aberthaw Road, said by the time he died in 1990, he weighed just 13lbs.

The family has waged a 19-year battle to get someone to admit liability for his death.

But just a few days ago, the UK government told them there would be no full compensation.

The family got a £20,000 ex-gratia payment, one compelled by morals as opposed to law, from the NHS, but Mrs Smith said the family had been pressing for full compensation as no-one has held their hands up over what happened.

She also wanted to ensure the financial future for her three other sons Darren, 34, Patrick, 32 and Daniel, 29.

Mrs Smith, said: "We were absolutely devastated, it was utter disbelief. This is the final insult.

"I've got three sons, it's hurt them so much that their brother could be alive today."

Known as 'little Colin', her youngest son required regular injections of factor VIII, the clotting agent in human blood he lacked.

Mrs Smith said her son had injections several times a week, but the family had no idea one of the donations came from a prisoner in Arkansas.

His mother, who described her son as "a fantastic boy" who loved his life, said the blood wasn't properly heat-treated, which kills off viruses.

Mrs Smith, 53, and husband Colin, 55, only found out after seeing her son's medical notes in 2007 following a Freedom of Information request.

They have been pushing to get to the bottom of what happened to their son for years, and Mrs Smith said this decision is not the end and they will continue to fight for justice for all those who needlessly died.

The virus was detected as part of routine blood tests the former Alway Primary School pupil underwent.

Even when it was detected, Mrs Smith said they weren't aware of the magnitude of the situation.

She said: "We didn't realise the full horror of it all until he had a severe nose bleed, we told the hospital and they were concerned about his brother Daniel, who was covered in his blood, that's when it hit us how dangerous it was."

Towards the end of his short life, Colin's weight plummeted and he couldn't keep food down, he got a chest infection then pneumonia and his HIV developed into AIDS eight months before he died.

His death certificate gives the cause as AIDS.

"It was horrendous. When I look back at photos, I can see how desperately ill he looked, but I had the blinkers on and wished it away," his mother said.

Minister offers sympathy

THOUSANDS of people were infected with HIV or Hepatitis C as a result of blood transfusions in the 1970s and 1980s. A privately-funded investigation, headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell, was launched after the government rejected calls for a public inquiry. Lord Archer called for a payment scheme for victims supported by the government, replacing existing ones run by charities, but ministers only awarded extra cash to people living with HIV, doubling their annual payments to £12,800. Westminster also rejected the idea of establishing a committee of specialists to advise ministers on compensation claims and the treatment of victims. Around 4,670 haemophiliacs have got hepatitis C as a result of this saga, as well as 1,243 contracting HIV. Of those, 1,757 have died. Minister for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo, said: "I would like to offer my deepest sympathy to all those who suffered in this tragic episode. "Sadly, it was not possible to effectively test for these viruses in the 1970s and early 80s and we deeply regret that these events occurred following NHS treatment."