- Former darts champion Tony David fell victim to infected blood
- The Australian legend was given just six months to live
- He has called for compensation for other Australian victims.
Former world darts champion Tony David has revealed how he was given just six months to live as a result of receiving blood plasma infected with hepatitis C.
David, 56, won the WDF world championship in 2002, but seven years later was near death due to stage 4 liver disease.
He was told the cause of his illness was hepatitis C-infected blood plasma he was given as a child in Queensland.
‘I had collapsed. The doctors basically told me I had about six months to live,” David, who is a hemophiliac, told 9News.
He escaped death after receiving a liver transplant, the first of three he has needed to stay alive.
Former darts champion Tony David revealed he was a victim of infected blood
Doctors told Australian legend David, 56, he only had six months to live.
The 56-year-old, known as Deadly Boomerang during his playing days, is one of thousands of Australians who contracted hepatitis C through donor blood between the 1970s and early 1990s.
Others have been infected with the HIV virus.
David was told he was not entitled to compensation for the infection or resulting health problems.
The Australian champion is now calling for action over the infected blood scandal, with victims demanding a royal commission to investigate, as well as an apology and compensation from the federal government.
The calls come in the wake of the investigation into infected blood donations in the UK, with damning findings showing the NHS knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to infections through sick blood and blood products.
It also found that the NHS concealed the truth about the scandal.
He now asks for an apology from the government and compensation for all victims.
Last week it was announced that British victims will receive compensation of $19 billion, and a British patient needing a liver transplant is expected to receive between $2.7 million and $3 million.
“What happened in the UK also happened here,” David added.
‘I know many who have died from this and I know what happened to me – they need to have a proper check in Australia.
‘I am still alive to give my account. However, many are not with us and many more are suffering without follow-up or efforts to give them life-saving transplants.’
A Senate inquiry in 2004 heard Australian Red Cross Blood Service estimates between 3,500 and 8,000 Australians were living with hepatitis C through blood transfusions, 1,350 of whom were haemophiliacs.
Victims claim they never received the expected financial assistance or a formal national apology that was promoted after the investigation.
