A Haemophiliac who was infected with hepatitis C, and had planned to give evidence to the Lindsay tribunal, has died, the Irish Haemophilia Society revealed yesterday.
The man's death brings to 78 the number of haemophiliacs who have died from HIV and/or hepatitis C-related illnesses. His was the sixth death since the tribunal was established in September 1999.
The news came as the tribunal concluded its hearings of oral testimony ahead of the delivery of closing statements next week.
The inquiry's last piece of evidence came from a haemophiliac infected with hepatitis C whose witness statement was read into record. The man, giving evidence under the pseudonym, James, had been taken into hospital on Thursday and, due to his illness, was unable to be at the tribunal in person.
Reading the statement into the record, Mr Raymond Bradley, solicitor for the IHS, said it was poignant that such testimony was concluding the oral hearings. James had hoped to give evidence on two previous occasions but was unable to attend because of his serious medical condition, Mr Bradley said.
In his statement, James described how he had undergone a "living hell" as a result of his treatment for hepatitis C. He had been put on Interferon twice. On the first occasion in 1994, the side-effects "nearly killed me". He suffered from fevers, became moody and missed out on schooling.
In 1999, he went on the treatment again, as a result of which he "lost" his wife, and had to be put on anti-depressants. "I treated my wife so badly. I simply was not myself at all," he said.
On both occasions, James had no sustained response to the treatment. As a result, he faced the "horrific prospect" of having to go on Interferon a third time.
He said no amount of compensation could rectify the suffering he had undergone. Nor could it compensate for the fact that he could never have a child. He said he could not take the risk of doing so when there was even a 1 per cent chance of his wife or child becoming infected. That, he said, "would break my heart".
He said his ambitions and career prospects had been "wrecked".
In addition, his family had been broken up due to strains over the illness of his brother, Mark (also a pseudonym), who was infected with HIV through non-heat-treated Blood Transfusion Service Board factor 9, and since died of an AIDS-related illness.
Their mother gave evidence last month under the pseudonym Amanda, in the course of which she said she believed Mark had been murdered. She also called for the chairwoman to hand over Mark's case for a criminal investigation.
Declaring an end to oral testimony, the sole member, Judge Alison Lindsay, said she was sorry James was not there himself to give evidence.
She adjourned the tribunal until next Wednesday when counsel for the tribunal will deliver its closing statement.
