Infected blood scandal: women with hepatitis C ‘dismissed’ by doctors

Medical problems blamed on weight, motherhood, menopause or teenage mood swings, say women

Women who were infected with hepatitis C as a result of the infected blood scandal say their medical problems were dismissed by doctors as being related to motherhood, the menopause or teenage mood swings.

Three women who spoke to the Guardian said they struggled to get doctors to take them seriously or test them for hepatitis C, and had to suffer unexplained health problems for decades while the virus, known as the silent killer", was causing damage to their bodies.

They are among the estimated more than 30,000 people who were exposed to hepatitis C due to blood transfusions given in the 1970s, 80s and 90s seeking justice and compensation through a public inquiry that will publish its final report on 20 May.