The shocking story of how corporate greed and political corruption turned a miracle cure for hemophilia into a deadly poison that accelerated the AIDS epidemic and the international effort to cover it up Factor VIII was meant to be a miracle drug. Its blood clotting protein could save hemophiliacs from dangerous, even lethal, bleeds. But what doctors didn’t know as they injected Factor VIII into the arms of eager patients was that pharmaceutical companies like Bayer and Baxter were harvesting Factor VIII from blood collected on skid row, in night clubs, and in prisons during the growing AIDs crisis. The companies knew these high-risk donors, who were paid with a cigarette or small sums of cash, could contaminate the drug. Still, miracles are a lucrative business, so they knowingly sold the product and effectively played Russian roulette with hemophiliacs’ lives. At Treloar, a British school for children with disabilities, 89 students under eighteen tested positive for HIV. Less than a quarter survived. Award-winning journalist Cara McGoogan follows the twisting trail of tightlipped executives and missing documents to bravely ask if the line of corruption could have been broken, whether people could have been saved, and, ultimately, who is to blame for the thousands of unnecessary deaths that altered the course of the AIDs epidemic. McGoogan not only uncovers the scandal of Factor VIII but also exposes a sweeping blueprint for corporate greed and malfeasance that, from the opioid crisis to vaping addictions, reverberates in our lives today. This is a deeply human story that draws a deft portrait of the hemophiliacs whose lives were ruined by Factor VIII, the doctors who had to reckon with their mistakes, the inmates and willing donors who learned of their compliance too late, and the courageous whistleblowers, survivors, and lawyers who daringly fought for justice.
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