Red Cross pleads guilty, offers apology in blood scandal

The Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty yesterday to a single charge arising from the tainted-blood scandal and publicly accepted responsibility for the disaster that left thousands of people infected with HIV and hepatitis C, saying it "is deeply sorry for the injury and death caused to those who were infected by blood or blood products it distributed" in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Many HIV and hepatitis C sufferers from across Canada said they had waited decades to hear those words, aired in a Hamilton court through a videotaped statement by the current Red Cross chief executive officer, Dr. Pierre Duplessis.

Mike McCarthy, spokesman for the Canadian Hemophilia Society and a tireless activist for victims, welcomed the admission of wrongdoing but with little satisfaction.

"How can anyone be satisfied? Thousands of people lost their lives. Hundreds and hundreds of people are living with these fatal viruses today," he said. "There's no great outcome here for anybody that's gone through the tainted-blood scandal."

Other survivors of the tainted-blood tragedy were not impressed, noting that thousands of people never lived to hear the Red Cross apology.

"They slither between every legal loophole and hide behind every lawyer they can," said Bruce Devenne, a 59-year-old Nova Scotian suffering from hepatitis C. He said he is upset that "the Red Cross is walking free from now on."

As part of the plea arrangement, which has yet to be approved by a judge, the Red Cross will be fined up to the maximum $5,000 penalty for admitting to violating the Food and Drugs Act. The charity has also agreed to pay an additional $1.5-million, splitting the money between scholarships for victims' families and funding medical research.

In 2002, after a five year-investigation, the RCMP laid six criminal charges against the Red Cross of endangering the public, but all criminal charges were dropped in the plea agreement.

Thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV and hepatitis C because of tainted blood. A judicial inquiry found that the infections could have been prevented by better screening, but that attempts to deal with the problem were "ineffective and half-hearted." The federal and provincial governments have compensated victims, but many complain the existing packages do not go far enough.

The tragedy caused the Canadian Red Cross to restructure under bankruptcy protection, transfer its blood operations to the new Canadian Blood Services agency in 1998, and concentrate exclusively on its humanitarian work -- as well as face allegations of criminality.

At the John Sopinka Courthouse yesterday, two huge screens were positioned on either side of the courtroom so reporters and the public gallery could see the Red Cross apology. "We profoundly regret that the Canadian Red Cross Society did not develop and adopt more quickly measures to reduce the risks of infection, and we accept responsibility through our plea," Dr. Duplessis told the Ontario Superior Court.

"We accept responsibility through our plea for having distributed harmful products to those that rely on us for their health."

The Red Cross said it would donate $750,000 to establish a "national medical error project" at the University of Ottawa. The project would alert doctors to the pitfalls of overlooking medical risks.

The other $750,000 would create scholarships for people who can prove their lives have been adversely affected by the tainted-blood tragedy.

Mr. Justice James Kent accepted the plea but asked to hear from victims before sentencing on June 30. Victims can do that at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/vw/blood.