Tainted Blood
May. 29th, 2005 06:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nairiporterHAMILTON (CP) - Tens of thousands of Canadians infected with AIDS or hepatitis C got an apology from the Canadian Red Cross on Monday after the charity pleaded guilty to distributing tainted blood in exchange for dropped criminal charges.
"The Canadian Red Cross Society is deeply sorry for the injury and death caused to those who were infected . . . and for the suffering caused to families and loved ones of those who were harmed," Dr. Pierre Duplessis, the organization's secretary general, told the Ontario Superior Court in a video-taped apology as tearful victims looked on.
"We accept responsibility through our plea for having distributed harmful products to those that rely on us for their health."
The charity accepted responsibility for the deadly tainted-blood scandal of the 1980s and early 1990s and said it would pay a $5,000 fine and dedicate $1.5 million to a scholarship fund and research project aimed at reducing medical errors.
In exchange for a guilty plea under the federal Food and Drugs Act, the Crown withdrew charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and common nuisance.
At a news conference, Duplessis apologized again to victims, saying "blood they had trusted to give life ended up taking it away."
An emotional Mike McCarthy, spokesman for the Canadian Hemophilia Society and tireless activist for victims, welcomed the admission of wrongdoing but with little satisfaction.
"How can anyone be satisfied? Thousands of people lost their lives. Hundreds and hundreds of people are living with these fatal viruses today," McCarthy said.
"There's no great outcome here for anybody that's gone through the tainted-blood scandal."
John Plater, who contracted HIV and hemophilia from the bad blood, called the conviction a historic occasion.
"This will go down in history as the first day we got finally to the reality that there was breaking of law that led to this," said John Plater, who is also Ontario president of the Canadian Hemophilia Society.
"We (had) thought a terrible mistake had caused the worst public health disaster in this country's history and what we've heard today is: No, in fact, people broke the law."
In an agreed statement of facts, prosecutor John Ayre told the court the organization had been too slow in implementing screening for HIV and hepatitis C in blood in the 1980s.
Ayre said convicting the non-profit organization of a criminal offence and levying a large fine would cripple its ability to carry on the humanitarian relief work for which it is renowned.
"The Red Cross has now said it is sorry and responsible for its actions," Ayre told the court.
"The apology . . . is as complete as one could contemplate."
Justice James Kent accepted the plea but asked to hear from victims before issuing a sentence on June 30.
More...
