Victim of tainted blood: "He knew he was going to die … I was not there for him"

Derek Martindale, who suffers from haemophilia, was one of the first to testify at public hearings on the tainted blood scandal in the UK.

The survey examines how thousands of people were infected with hepatitis C and HIV with tainted blood that had been given to them in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr. Martindale was diagnosed HIV-positive at the age of 23 after receiving infected blood products. He was told that he had a year to live. His brother, Richard, also had hemophilia and was also infected. He subsequently contracted AIDS and died.

In an emotional testimony, Mr. Martindale described the difficulties encountered in helping his brother in the final stages of his illness while fighting fears about his future.