A former soldier who lost his leg whilst on duty in Germany has been diagnosed with hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood.
Brendan West, 63, had his leg amputated in 1979 after he was involved in a hit-and-run car accident whilst on duty outside the barracks.
He said his leg was “smashed to pieces”, all of his ribs were broken and his elbow was also fractured.
West, who joined the army in 1976, had to have a blood transfusion in order to save his life.
Brendan West, a soldier who lost his leg whilst on duty in Germany, has been diagnosed with hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood
PA
He was given treatment at both a Belgian hospital and then at a British military hospital in Germany.
However, four decades later, West was dismayed to learn that the blood he was given was infected with Hepatitis C, discovering this when he was turned away from giving blood during the pandemic.
“During lockdown, I just wanted to do something good,” he said. “I went to give blood and I got a shock letter which came through the post and said ‘you have got hepatitis C antibodies, we can’t take your blood’.
“Then I had to go and be tested for the virus and one of the specialist nurses said: ‘By the looks of the reading you have had this for more than 20 years.’”
He said after the nurses went through his medical records, it appeared that the virus was contracted through the blood transfusion.
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Prior to his diagnosis, the former soldier suffered from bouts of ill health and exhaustion, which he said negatively affected his working life.
“At one point I was offered a promotion which would involve lots of international travel but I had to turn it down because I knew I wasn’t physically able to take on that role.”
West, who was deployed to the British Military base in Germany as part of his work with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME), had to have two knee and a hip replacement in the initial years after his amputation, noting it “interesting” that the virus was not discovered at all.
In the subsequent years since the hit-and-run, the 63-year-old has suffered from severe liver damage due to the virus going undetected for so long.
“I wouldn't blame surgeons, or nurses, or whoever gave me the blood, but systematically there is obviously some blame there,” he said.
West, who joined the army in 1976, had to have a blood transfusion in order to save his life
PA
West, from Colne, Lancashire, said the diagnosis negatively impacted his mental health, adding that the Government had been “totally uncaring” towards victims of the infected blood scandal.
In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, thousands of people were infected with hepatitis C and HIV through infected blood transfusions.
Many people may still be unknowingly living with these conditions as the symptoms can take a long time to appear.
A Government spokesperson described the infected blood scandal as “an appalling tragedy that never should have happened”.
The final report into the scandal is due to be published on May 20.
