A new ITV documentary will see victims of the infected blood scandal open up about their experience of what has been called the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history.
More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after they were given contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s.
Some 3,000 people died as a result and survivors are living with lifelong health implications.
The ITV programme has a working title of Killer In The Blood: The Boarding School Scandal and will centre on the personal stories of the haemophiliac children at the Lord Mayor Treloar School in Hampshire who were affected.
What is the infected blood scandal?
In the late 1970s, an NHS haemophiliac unit was opened at the specialist school which was meant to help children with the rare condition that affects the way your blood clots as they could receive treatment onsite.
However, children undergoing treatment for haemophilia were experimented on without their knowledge by NHS clinicians who knew the dangers it posed, leading to many being infected.
Of the 122 pupils with haemophilia who attended the boarding school between 1970 and 1987, only 30 are still alive, a final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry published last year found.
The ITV documentary will share the “deeply personal testimonies of these survivors, now men in their 50s, who have spent decades fighting for truth and justice”.
Following the success of the channel’s series about Post Office workers fighting for justice, the broadcaster also announced last year that it was going to make a drama about the infected blood scandal.
Compensation payments for victims started in December 2024
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her October Budget that £11.8 billion would be set aside to compensate those impacted by the infected blood scandal and payouts began in December.
Controller of factual at ITV, Jo Clinton-Davis, said: “As they continue their fight for justice, the raw truth of how thousands were affected by the 1970s and 1980s infected blood scandal is told by some of the last remaining victims themselves in this emotional documentary.
“It’s shocking how these men have suffered all these years from something that was covered up and could have been prevented.”
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Anna Hall, executive producer at Candour Productions, added: “Killer In The Blood: The Boarding School Scandal shows the devastating effect first-hand of a lifetime spent unearthing what happened to our survivors when they were just children.
“We are so humbled to have worked with the four men in this film who wanted to make this in honour of their school friends who died, so that the truth would finally be told.”
A release date for Killer In The Blood: The Boarding School Scandal has not yet been confirmed but it is scheduled to air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player later this year.
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