23/08/2026
This is Peter and Francis when they were young boys. They were both victims of the infected blood scandal 💔
By the time Sarah was born, her dad Peter, had already become unwell.
Peter and his brother, Francis, received Factor VIII injections to replace clotting proteins that were missing in their blood from birth.
It was a normal health procedure that the 'very lovable' pair went through. But from 1978 to 1985, the pair were given infected blood. It gave them HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
It was a devastating situation for the siblings and for their family.
Sarah, now 46, believes her dad would have found out he was ill around 1983, after going back and forth to the doctors.
Sarah says her parents weren't warned not to have any more children after finding out about the diagnoses. Her brother, Duncan, came along later.
From around the age of 14, Sarah had to become an on-and-off carer to her dad, which carried on well until her adult years. Her life completely changed to accommodate his needs, including giving up work and financial stability.
In one instance, Sarah gave up work as a funeral director to care for her dad who was put into a four month induced coma at St Thomas's Hospital - a coma she was told her dad would never wake up from 😔
Fortunately, doctors tried their best and he eventually woke up, but this wouldn't be the end of the family's suffering.
In 2011, Peter Dudley Clark passed away at the age of just 53 from multiple organ failure, with HIV cited as the cause of death on his death certificate.
He also lived with pancreatic cancer towards the end, an insight in to the complex and immeasurable suffering the victims of the infected blood scandal went through 😢
It was a similar fate for Francis too, who passed away 2000 at the age of just 38. For him, it was in 1985 when he found out about his conditions after having his spleen removed.
Such devastating stories, RIP Peter and Francis 🕊️
