The trial began for doctors accused of spreading the VI …

The oral trial started at doctors Pedro Raúl Pérez, Miguel de Tezanos Pinto and lawyer Eduardo Viedma, accused of spreading HIV and hepatitis C in their patients between 1979 and 1991. The three accused, former executives of the Argentinian Hemophilia Foundation, would not have made the appropriate controls on the clotting concentrates that they applied to patients and could purge a 15 years maximum.

This morning, the first hearing of the Federal Courts 3 of Comodoro Py took place, which began with the reading of the accusation. According to the prosecutor María Alejandra Mángano, "the accused they did not inform patients of the possibility of infection"when they went to the Foundation and this "provoked mbadive contagion and sometimes death".

Three of the patients concerned were those who had requested the reopening of the case against the directors of the Foundation in 2016. According to the complaint, Pedro Benigno Gutierrez treatment initiated in the institution and, because of the blood transfusions received, contracted HIV in 1985 and hepatitis C in 1992. Something similar has happened with hundreds of patients., some of them have already died and were recalled during the hearing in Comodoro Py.

"Given the knowledge of very serious events and the death of eight hundred hemophiliacs, among whom I have met almost everyone, I have no doubt about the fact that what they did with us was genocide or widespread murderGutierrez said when he started his claim.

"Imprudence" medical and lack of control of the state

"People with hemophilia lack of factor VIII (involved in blood clotting) and need it whatever the circumstances, such as tooth extraction," said Pedro Cahn , Scientific Director of the Guest Foundation. To obtain factor VIII, the doctor added, it is necessary to draw blood from several donors and concentrate it.

These concentrates, imported from France, were used by the Foundation to treat their patients. According to the prosecutor Mángano, there was an "obvious imprudence" of the accused which allowed the application of concentrates "knowing that they were unreliable".

During the 1980s, French companies that manufactured and exported products for hemophiliacs sold uncontrolled concentrates containing HIV and hepatitis C. The patients with hemophilia involved had then initiated million-dollar trials in various countries such as United States – where it is estimated that there are between 6,000 and 10,000 people who contracted HIV – are represented, as well as Italy, Japan and Portugal.

Attorney Mángano stated that "the Argentine stateat the time of transfusions with antihemophilic coagulation factors called factors VIII and IX, did not provide adequate control over all these lots of blood who has entered the country. "He also warned that these lots of blood used by the Foundation" had already been rejected by the United States, Japan and Brazil ".

"(Increased control) would have guaranteed the right to health of all 208 victims, which not only acquired these serious diseases, otherwise what as well, in the absence of a correct notification, they spread them to their wives, partners and children", Said the prosecutor of the case.

Cahn, meanwhile, said that in the mid – eighties, the controls exercised "should not be very thorough" and that "the level of alert was well below what 's. it is now". "I want to rebadure people who need concentrated factors. This is not a current problem, today the blood is properly controlled. Do not let anyone stop donating or receiving because it's been under control for a long time, "added the head of the Foundation.

A long time cause

Pérez, Tezanos Pinto and Viedma were prosecuted by Federal Judge Sebastián Ramos. In his decision, the magistrate found that the officials "did not carry out sufficient checks to ensure that the degree of reliability of the clotting concentrates" provided to the patients was badured and that they had decided to use the concentrates even when they had knowledge of the allegations. in other countries

In 1994, Pérez and Tezanos Pinto were sued with another doctor. Foundation, Armando Anselmo, Judge Mariano Bergés for "contagious mischief". However, in 1996, the magistrate dictated the referral and released them from their responsibilities.

In 2005, another cause started for a complaint from the lawyer Gonzalo Gidone, but Judge Claudio Bonadio returned the accused three times. Finally, in early 2017, the cause was reopened.

According to Article 202 of the Criminal Code, Pérez, Tezanos Pinto and Viedma could receive sentences between 3 and 15 years to spread "a dangerous and contagious disease for people"

Report: Ludmila Ferrer.