Infected Blood Inquiry


We supported the Infected Blood Inquiry with finding truth and justice for all those whose lives have been so tragically affected. NHS Blood and Transplant will continue to listen, learn and improve.

About us

NHS Blood and Transplant was established in 2005 to provide a national blood and transplantation service to the NHS, looking after blood donation services in England and transplant services across the UK.

We play a unique role in the NHS – we provide life-saving and life-improving treatments from donated blood, organs, tissues and stem cells, and a range of related diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Our mission is to save and improve lives and to create a world where every patient receives the donation they need.

We are responsible for collecting, manufacturing and distributing more than two million lifesaving blood components a year to 260 hospitals and the patients who rely on us.

What is the Infected Blood Inquiry?

The Infected Blood Inquiry was an independent public statutory Inquiry established to examine the circumstances in which men, women and children treated by national health services in the United Kingdom were given infected blood and infected blood products, in particular in the 1970s and 1980s.

It took evidence from 2019 until 2023. Its final report was delivered in May 2024.

Read the final report on the Infected Blood Inquiry website.

Our commitment to supporting the inquiry

We committed at the outset to do all we could to assist the Infected Blood Inquiry in its search for truth and justice for all, with frankness and transparency. It was moving and humbling to hear and read the evidence of the Infected and Affected.

We have heard, and continue to recognise the hurt, pain and suffering of the Infected and Affected. We have apologised unreservedly for any respect in which it is found that the blood services of the past, or the blood they supplied, was the cause of suffering to any person.

How safety standards have improved

Modern safety standards are rigorous and have improved enormously since the tragic events which are the subject of the Inquiry.

We follow guidelines and advice from expert committees and bodies, many of which have donor or patient representatives as members. And we are regularly inspected by independent regulators.

The work of the UK blood services over many years means the UK has one of the safest blood supply services in the world.

All blood donors are screened at every donation and their blood is tested in our laboratories before it is sent to hospitals. Blood services and blood safety has been transformed not only in terms of technological advances in testing but also in the way that we recruit and ensure that donors are safe to donate. We also work closely with partners in the UK and internationally to monitor any emerging issues.

Whilst blood transfusion is not, and never will be, without risk, we are confident that with modern science, systems and processes, we are much more responsive and work much more quickly than we did in the past.

Remembering those affected

NHSBT is establishing our own memorial so we continue to remember, learn and improve. As part of this, a multidisciplinary artist, Rizzy Akanji, has been commissioned to create a piece of art. Rizzy is the founder of Akanji Studio, a collective of artists, technologists, and cultural workers focused on memory, healing, and social change. Rizzy lives with sickle cell disorder and receives blood transfusions as part of his care.

Rizzy said:

"My relationship with NHSBT is deeply personal. I’m here living well because of blood donors. I'm part of the generation that has survived because of what was learned after the Infected Blood Scandal. That legacy runs through my veins, and my art reflects that every day.

"This is legacy work. The infected blood tragedy wasn’t abstract. It was human. It was devastating. As someone living on the other side of that history, still dependent on donated blood, I carry the consequences and the gratitude daily.

"This memorial is not just about looking back. It should hold grief and accountability, and also be a reminder of the lives being saved now."