'I don't want anymore words': Victim of infected blood scandal calls for action, closure and justice

A victim of the infected blood scandal has told ITV Meridian she is 'fed up' of all the words and just wants to get on with her life.

Joanne Vincent, from Worthing, was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver after she was unknowingly given contaminated blood.

The blood was infected with Hepatitis C, and it took her 27 years to find out exactly what had happened to her.

Speaking following the conclusion of an inquiry into the scandal, which saw more than 30,000 people given contaminated blood, Joanne told ITV Meridian she wants action.

“ I don't want any more words”, she said. “Words aren't going to do anything. I want action. I want closure. I want justice. I want to get on with the rest of my life.

“And every day for me, I've got cirrhosis of the liver because I had contaminated blood for 27 years before I knew about it and was told I had Hepatitis C.

“Because I've had it for so long, I've got cirrhosis of the liver. And every day that I wake up, I think, is today the day I'm going to have liver cancer?

“[I think] is today the day that I'm going to be told? These are liver palms and I showed these the other day. It's really important because this is a sign of liver damage.”

Watch: Joanne speaks to ITV Meridian following the report being published.

The long-awaited report released on Monday revealed the risks were “well-known” decades before the infected blood products were used on patients in the UK.

The scandal happened in the 1970s and 1980s, and after decades of campaigning for justice, victims, and their families are finally getting answers in a milestone report.

However, despite the report acknowledging the concerns of those given contaminated blood, Joanne says it doesn't go far enough.

She fears there are nearly 2,000 people who still don't know they were given contaminated blood, and says action is needed now. She said: “Another really important thing that I want to say about today is what I want from the report is to find the missing 1, 750 people that are still walking around.

“Not knowing that they were given contaminated blood. So I want everyone to be tested and blanket testing. It's probably over the top, but that's what I want.”

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