Policy paper

Infected Blood Compensation Scheme overview: Living infected persons

Published 23 August 2024

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Infected Blood Compensation Scheme overview: Living infected persons

Below is a summary of information about the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme relevant to a person who is living with infection(s) or who has since recovered from infection. The information provided in this summary is relevant to applicants across all four UK nations. This should be read in conjunction with the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Summary.

Category of Award Core Route awards Supplementary Route awards available?
Injury Impact Acute Hepatitis C: £10,000

All other infection severity bands: £60,000-£270,000		 No
Social Impact Acute Hepatitis C: £5,000

All other severity bands: £50,000-£70,000		 No
Autonomy Acute Hepatitis C: £10,000

All other severity bands: £40,000-£70,000		 Yes - if eligible as a victim of unethical research
Care Acute Hepatitis C: £500

All other severity bands: Approx £50,000- £680,000		 Yes - where eligible, the evidence-led and health impact supplementary sub-routes are available for higher care costs
Financial Loss Acute Hepatitis C: £12,500

All other severity bands: £5,931 - £29,657 per annum		 Yes - where eligible, the evidence-led and health impact supplementary sub-routes are available for higher financial loss

A living infected person may also be eligible for compensation as an affected person. Further information can be found in section Compensation awards where an applicant has multiple claims.

Eligibility 

A person will qualify for the Scheme as an infected person if they are:

A directly infected person includes someone who through the use of NHS-supplied blood, blood products and/or tissue:

  • is/was infected with HIV;

  • is/was infected with an acute or chronic case of Hepatitis C;

  • is/was infected with a chronic case of Hepatitis B;

  • was infected with an acute case of Hepatitis B and died as a result of the Hepatitis B infection during the acute period.

An indirectly infected person includes someone who was infected:

  • by transmission of infection, in defined circumstances, from a person who is or was directly infected (e.g. a person infected by their partner);

  • by transmission of infection, in defined circumstances, from a person who was infected by someone who was directly infected (e.g. a child infected by their mother who was infected by her partner).

Where a person who was previously either directly or indirectly infected (as described above) has since recovered or their infection has cleared, they will still be eligible to apply for compensation through the Scheme.

The Scheme will not have hard cut-off dates for determining whether a person is eligible for compensation based on when their infection was acquired. However, the evidence requirements will be higher where a person was infected after the introduction of screening of blood, blood products and tissue (see dates below). Further detail on evidence requirements will be made available in due course. 

The dates the Scheme will acknowledge for the introduction of screening are: 

  • HIV infection - November 1985
  • Hepatitis C infection - September 1991
  • Hepatitis B infection - December 1972

Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS)

  • All infected persons who are beneficiaries of an IBSS or one or more of the AHOs will automatically be considered eligible for the Scheme. Beneficiaries of an IBSS or AHO scheme, may be required to provide some additional information in order for the IBCA to determine their compensation award.

  • Infected persons registered with IBSS before 1 April 2025 will be able to continue to receive support scheme payments for life. These payments will be uplifted each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

  • Support scheme payments will continue to be paid to IBSS beneficiaries on an ex-gratia basis until 31 March 2025. 

  • Support scheme payments received after 31 March 2025, will be taken into account when the IBCA assesses an applicant’s future financial loss and future care awards. 

  • For an IBSS beneficiary who chooses to continue to receive support scheme payments for life, they will receive a compensation award which covers an Injury Impact, Social Impact and Autonomy award, as well as past financial loss and past care paid as a lump sum or periodical payment over 5, 10 or 25 years.

  • The IBCA will compare the future Financial Loss award and future Care award under the Scheme with the person’s estimated support scheme payments up to their healthy life expectancy. Where the awards under the Scheme are higher than the estimated support scheme payments, the person will receive a ‘support scheme top up award’ which will be added to the compensation paid by IBCA. If the awards under the Scheme are lower, this will have no impact on the support scheme payments which will continue to be paid at the same rate, increasing annually in line with CPI.

  • If preferred, an IBSS beneficiary may choose not to continue to receive support payments and to instead receive their future Financial Loss and Care award as part of their total compensation package under the Core Route in the same way as someone who is not an IBSS beneficiary, payable by lump sum or periodic payments over 5, 10 or 25 years.

Managing money received through the Scheme

  • Compensation will be payable through a lump sum or series of regular payments (instalments) over 5, 10 or 25 years. 

  • If an eligible infected person is in receipt of regular support payments and/or compensation payment instalments at the time of their death, their support payments will stop and the outstanding balance of their total compensation award will be paid to the personal representative of their estate as a lump sum.

  • Compensation received through instalments will be uplifted each year in line with CPI.

  • On the request of an infected person, the compensation awarded for past care costs can be paid directly to the affected persons who provided care to the infected person.

  • Compensation payments made through the Scheme will not adversely impact means tested benefits received by persons who are either infected or affected.

  • Compensation payments made under the Scheme will be exempt from income, capital gains and inheritance tax. This is in line with tax exemptions for the first and second interim payments.

What next?

Case studies for infected persons

The case studies below are example scenarios. The names, dates of birth and other clinical details are fictitious and have been created to illustrate the principles of the Scheme. These case studies aim to help illustrate how compensation is calculated in different possible scenarios. Whether an individual is eligible for compensation and what level of compensation they are eligible to receive will be dependent on IBCA assessment based on the regulations for the Scheme.

Case study 1: Application by an infected person living with Hepatitis C who is an IBSS beneficiary

Meera was infected with chronic Hepatitis C during a blood transfusion she received following childbirth in 1983. 

As a result of interferon treatment for her Hepatitis C infection, Meera also developed an autoimmune disease, Coombes positive haemolytic anaemia. 

Meera currently receives IBSS support payments. Due to her autoimmune disease, Meera qualifies for England Infected Blood Support Schemes Special Category Mechanism (SCM) regular payments.

As a person living with chronic Hepatitis C, Meera is eligible for compensation as an infected person through the Scheme. As a living infected person, Meera has already received interim compensation payments of £100,000 and £210,000. Meera’s application to the Scheme was assessed by the IBCA in April 2025.

Summary of Meera’s application

Date of birth: 13 August 1960

Date of treatment which led to an infection: 15 March 1983

Date of interferon treatment which led to SCM symptoms: 4 January 1995

Healthy life expectancy: 87 

Infection severity band: Hepatitis C (Chronic)

The table below shows Meera’s compensation award as an infected person.

Category of infected person award Value of compensation Calculation
Injury Impact £60,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis C (Chronic)
Social Impact £50,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis C (Chronic)
Autonomy £40,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis C (Chronic)
Past Financial Loss £425,761.24 43 years (approx.) of financial loss at working age rate, including £12,500 flat rate award for miscellaneous costs.
Past Care £166,320.00 Based on 10 years of ‘domestic and ad hoc support’ care for Hepatitis C (Chronic), plus approximately 30 years ‘domestic support and ad hoc’ care due to SCM.
Support scheme payment Support scheme payment of £35,395 per year for life, uprated yearly for CPI  
  Total: £742,081.24 + support scheme payments for life (£35,395 per year, uprated for CPI) Interim payments received to date (£310,000) would be deducted from this total

Case study 2: Application by an infected person living with HIV and chronic Hepatitis C who is an IBSS beneficiary

Henry was born with a bleeding disorder in 1970. He received infected blood products as a child in January 1983 during an unethical research study.

Henry currently lives with HIV and chronic Hepatitis C but has not developed liver cirrhosis. Henry currently receives IBSS support payments for co-infection with HIV and Hepatitis C Stage 1.

As a person living with an HIV and Hepatitis C co-infection, Henry is eligible for compensation through the Scheme. Henry is also eligible for an additional Autonomy award due to his suffering caused by unethical research. As a living infected person, Henry has already received interim compensation payments of £100,000 and £210,000. Henry’s application to the Scheme was assessed by IBCA in April 2025.

Summary of Henry’s application

Date of birth: 1 January 1970

Date of treatment which led to an infection: 8 January 1983

Date of first diagnosis (HIV): 1 May 1985

Date of confirmed diagnosis of HCV : 2nd February 1992

Healthy life expectancy: 85

Infections severity band: HIV and Hepatitis C (Chronic)

The table below shows Henry’s compensation award as an infected person.

Category of infected person award Value of compensation Calculation
Injury Impact £195,000 Award for infected person with HIV co-infection
Social impact £70,000 Award for infected person with HIV co-infection
Autonomy £80,000 Award for infected person with HIV co-infection, plus £10,000 as victim of unethical research
Past Financial Loss £1,032,465.13 43 years (approx.) of financial loss at working age, including a flat rate award of £12,500 for miscellaneous costs.
Past Care £296,196.77 Based on approximately 14 years of past care for HIV and Hepatitis C co-infection.
Support scheme payments Support scheme payment of £47,809 per year for life, uprated yearly for CPI  
  Total infected person award: £1,673,661.90 + support scheme payments for life (£47,809 per year, uprated yearly for CPI) Interim payments received to date (£310,000) would be deducted from this total

                                

Case study 3: Application by an infected person living with Hepatitis B

Sandy was infected with Hepatitis B and diagnosed with chronic infection in 1971. Sandy contracted chronic Hepatitis B from her partner who has been living with the infection since he received infected blood during a surgical procedure in 1968. Sandy’s partner joins the Scheme in the Chronic Infection Severity Band. 

Sandy is currently not eligible for IBSS support payments. Sandy is eligible for compensation through the Scheme as an infected person, as well as an affected person through her relationship with her partner who was also infected.

Summary of Sandy’s application

Date of birth: 13 August 1952

Date of diagnosis of infection (from partner): 5 August 1971

Healthy life expectancy: 89

Infection severity band: Hepatitis B (Chronic)

The table below shows Sandy’s compensation award as both an infected and affected person.

Category of infected person award Value of compensation award as an infected person Calculation
Injury Impact £60,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis B (Chronic)
Social Impact £50,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis B (Chronic)
Autonomy £40,000 Award for infected person with Hepatitis B (Chronic)
Financial Loss £712,417.00 47 years of financial loss at working age rate and 24 years at pensionable age rate; plus £12,500 flat rate award for miscellaneous costs.
Care £54,600 Based on 10 years of care at ‘domestic support and ad hoc care’ rate
  Total infected person award: £917,017  
Category of affected person award (Partner) Value of compensation award as an affected person Calculation
Injury Impact £34,000 Injury Impact award for partner of infected person with Hepatitis B (Chronic)
Social Impact N/A Already received as part of first award
Autonomy N/A Already received as part of first award
Financial Loss N/A Affected persons are not eligible for Financial Loss awards in their own right.
Care N/A Affected person is not eligible for the Care award.
  Total affected person award: £34,000  
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