At St. Paul’s Cathedral, victims of the tainted blood scandal come together.

Victims of the tainted blood scandal meets at St. Paul’s Cathedral

The chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, stated that St. Paul’s Cathedral, “where the spirit to sing, to shout, to scream it out is so highly valued,” hosted a MEMORIAL service on Tuesday for those impacted by the contaminated-blood scandal.

“We gather today, in this Cathedral Church, to hold before God all who have been impacted by the decades-long contaminated blood scandal,” said the Very Revd Andrew Tremlett, Dean of St. Paul’s, who led the service. The destruction inflicted upon thousands of lives and the premature deaths of loved ones are acknowledged and remembered in public

According to the Haemophilia Society, approximately 6000 patients with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders were treated with tainted clotting factors that contained HIV and hepatitis viruses during the 1970s and 1980s.

Due to their ignorance of their own infection, some of those unintentionally infected their partners. Over 3000 people have perished since then. There were roughly 1250 HIV-positive individuals, including 380 children.

“There are few places fitter than here at St. Paul’s where the spirit to sing, to shout, to scream it out is so highly valued,” Sir Brian stated as he delivered the speech.

This is the place where we can all remember in our own unique ways as well as powerfully in unison. “This tragedy alone would be catastrophic enough,” he went on, “but the public’s lack of recognition and acknowledgment has made it worse.”.

We honor those who have brought us to this point and those who are still fighting to guarantee that justice is served to everyone. We owe them all an unrepayable debt.

According to Dean Tremlett, empty seats were set aside throughout the cathedral to physically represent the deceased and “remind us that they sit alongside us in our journey.”.

In remembrance of the deceased, St. Paul’s bells were half-muffled prior to the service. Congregational members were asked to pick up a plain envelope containing the first name of a person impacted by the scandal. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were among those present.

Following a prayer led by Clive Smith, the chair of the Infected Blood Memorial Committee, participants were asked to open the envelope and read the names aloud.

The community’s colors red for HIV, yellow for hepatitis, and black for death—were then seen to fall from the whispering gallery during a brief period of silence. Michael Ball sang the song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from the musical Les Misérables.

Ball portrayed Marius Pontmercy in the 1985 West End production. “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,” “Lord of all hopefulness,” and “Abide with me” were among the hymns.

Members of the community carried candles forward to be lit beneath the cathedral’s dome during the latter.

Emeli Sandé’s which featured a powerful a cappella section, was performed by the London Contemporary Voices Choir under the direction of Meg Ella Brookes and with accompaniment by Barny Jones. In Paradisum from Fauré’s Requiem, the St. Paul’s Cathedral Consort sang, “Set me as a seal.”.

May the soul of those that departed resr in peace