Christopher Martin once had dreams of becoming a flight attendant, travelling the world and opening his own hotel.
But those aspirations were cruelly snatched from him before he even had time to imagine them.
At just 12-months-old, Christopher was unknowingly infected with hepatitis C in a scandal that shocked the nation.
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Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of people with haemophilia were infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses.
The infections came after patients were given contaminated clotting factor products to help treat their conditions, many of them imported from the USA.
Christopher was one of those victims – receiving the tainted blood when he was just a baby.
With no symptoms other than jaundice, the virus went undetected for many years until it was revealed in a blood test when Christopher was nine-years-old.
He was placed on a 48-week care plan to treat the infection but was left with devastating side effects including anaemia, vision problems, nausea and fatigue.
From dating to working, the symptoms have impacted every part of his daily life, leaving him virtually housebound.
“I wake up and every day I reflect on what could have been,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “Sometimes, I cry.
“I go nowhere on my own because I’m worried something might happen to me.
“Some days are good days and some are bad days. My days are filled with trying to keep myself occupied but I have a lot of brain fog and my concentration levels have never been the same since the treatment.
“I chat with my friend online, read, go on the computer and watch movies. But there are days where I just sleep and sleep and sleep.”
When Christopher was a baby, he was diagnosed with haemophilia, an inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to clot, the process needed to stop bleeding.
The condition sees people bleed longer after an injury, bruise easily and have an increased risk of bleeding inside joints or other parts of the body. There is no long-term cure for haemophilia.
Christopher was among 4,689 British haemophiliacs treated with contaminated blood products, leading to infections such as hepatitis C and HIV.
“It’s affected my life majorly,” Christopher, who lives in Manchester city centre, added. “I can’t work anymore because of the after-effects my old treatment had.
“My mental health has been seriously affected, my body, my liver. It’s affected my family and friends, I’ve lost a lot of them. I only have two close friends. I can’t go out and drink because of my liver.
“I haven’t had a partner for ten years. I’ve felt the stigma; it’s dirty. Even though I’m classed as being in the clear, I still worry.”
Since the blood scandal, more than 3,000 people have died and of the 1,243 people infected with HIV, less than 250 are still alive.
According to the Haemophilia Society, 380 children with bleeding disorders were infected with HIV. A large number, including Christopher, were unaware of their infection for many years before diagnosis.
Christopher, now 40, attempted to get a job in a hotel at the age of 16 but due to his symptoms, he only lasted a couple of months.
“I was getting up at 6am and I had brain fog, fatigue and I felt sick. I was just sleeping the days away because I felt so ill. I had to go onto the benefit system.
“I still feel very sad about the situation and how the government are treating our community.
“As much as they say they’ve done quite a bit, to me it’s not enough. I want the whole community to be looked after the best they can be.”
In 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that a statutory public inquiry would be held into the contaminated blood scandal.
The inquiry officially opened in 2018 and hearings lasted from April 2019 to January 2023.
Since the inquiry was announced, The Haemophilia Society estimate that more than 500 people infected and affected by the scandal have died – with more expected to lose their lives before the inquiry reaches its conclusions in autumn 2023.
Until 2022, no compensation had ever been paid to victims of the contaminated blood scandal in the UK. In 2022, Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, made an interim recommendation that interim compensation of £100,000 should be paid to everyone currently registered on a UK infected blood support scheme.
This was accepted by the government and payment was made in October 2022, with Christopher among those who received compensation.
While this was welcome news, many groups of people seriously affected by the scandal were excluded from this payment, such as bereaved parents, siblings and children.
“The government needs to act for the rest of the community,” Christopher added. “They need to act now and treat everyone fairly.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the government told the Manchester Evening News: "The Government accepts the moral case for compensation and work is ongoing at pace across the UK Government and in consultation with the Devolved Administrations to consider the recommendations put forward in the Inquiry's second interim report.
"Interim compensation payments of £100,000 were paid to the infected and bereaved partner beneficiaries of the UK infected blood support schemes, in accordance with the recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff, Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, in his first interim report."
Kate Burt, chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, added: “Lack of information from government about when compensation will be paid is adding significantly to the suffering of those who have waited decades for politicians to take responsibility for the contaminated blood scandal.
“We need action and a timetable. It is utterly unacceptable to delay paying this desperately needed and long-overdue compensation.”
