Settlement of HIV-Tainted Blood Scandal Marks 30 Years

Tokyo, March 29 (Jiji Press)--Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by hemophilia patients in Japan who contracted HIV through the administration of untreated blood products.

Tomomi Goto, 53, who currently leads a group of plaintiffs in Tokyo, warns that prejudice and discrimination against people with infectious diseases remain unresolved, referring to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Goto was diagnosed with hemophilia, a condition that makes it difficult to stop bleeding, during his childhood. Around junior high school age, it was learned that he had contracted HIV from blood products used in his treatment. He was also infected with hepatitis C and suffered from cirrhosis.

About 1,400 people were affected by the untreated blood products, making it one of the worst pharmaceutical disasters in history.

In 1989, patients and bereaved families jointly sued the government and the manufacturers of the blood products in Tokyo and Osaka district courts. Goto joined the plaintiffs in 1995.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]