Awareness of the Infected Blood Scandal
The majority of UK adults have heard of the Infected Blood Scandal
The proportion of those who know about the Infected Blood Scandal has remained consistent since April 2025. A little over one in five (22%) know a lot or a fair amount, and just under a fifth (16%) have never heard of it.
The older people are, the more likely they are to have heard of the Infected Blood Scandal (similar to other scandals). Other independent research has found that, the older people are, the more likely to listen to or watch the news.
People aged over 55 are significantly more likely to have heard of the Infected Blood Scandal than those under 35, (92% vs 67%).
Before this survey, how much, if anything, did you know about the Infected Blood Scandal?| April 2025 | December 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| A lot | 3% | 3% |
| A fair amount | 18% | 19% |
| A little | 36% | 36% |
| Heard about | 22% | 22% |
| Never heard of | 17% | 16% |
| % Net: Heard of | 79% | 81% |
This table compares awareness of the Infected Blood Scandal between April 2025 and December 2025. In December 2025: 3% know a lot, 19% know a fair amount, 36% know a little, 22% have heard about it, 16% have never heard of it, and 81% have heard of it.
While few people say they know a lot (3%) about the scandal, over half (55%) of those surveyed said they had a fair to little knowledge of the scandal.
Before this survey, how much, if anything, did you know about the following?| A lot / a fair amount | A little / heard about | Never heard of | % Net Heard of (December 2025) | % Net: Heard of (April 2025) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infected Blood Scandal | 22% | 59% | 16% | 81% | 79% |
| Grenfell Tower Fire | 63% | 32% | 5% | 94% | 90% |
| British Post Office Scandal | 62% | 30% | 8% | 92% | 95% |
This table compares awareness of the Infected Blood Scandal, Grenfell Tower Fire, and British Post Office Scandal. The Infected Blood Scandal has 81% net heard of in December 2025, compared to 94% for Grenfell Tower Fire and 92% for British Post Office Scandal.
Have you heard others talking about the Infected Blood Scandal or seen it talked about in news/social media recently?| April 25 | December 25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 37% | 38% |
| No | 60% | 59% |
| Don't know / prefer not to say | 3% | 3% |
This table shows whether respondents have heard others talking about the Infected Blood Scandal or seen it in the news/social media recently. In December 2025: 38% said yes, 59% said no, and 3% said don't know or prefer not to say.
Can you describe what you saw, heard or read?| % Net: Specifics about the Infected Blood Scandal | 29% |
| Contaminated blood transfusions / products | 18% |
| Information about the scandal | 8% |
| Infected blood supplies from the US to the UK | 4% |
| Number of people impacted | 1% |
| % Net: Compensation scheme | 30% |
| Delays / waiting a long time for settlement | 12% |
| People dying before being paid compensation | 5% |
| Impact on those infected and their families | 3% |
This table shows what respondents described seeing, hearing or reading about the Infected Blood Scandal. 29% mentioned specifics about the scandal (including contaminated blood transfusions at 18%), and 30% mentioned the compensation scheme (including delays at 12%).
Comments from respondents included:
- “Infected blood from the USA given to haemophiliacs giving them HIV, hepatitis etc. previous governments dragging their feet on payment.”
- “People were infected with the wrong blood via the NHS.”
- “People still waiting for compensation after being infected with HIV.”
- “The scandal surrounding the compensation and it's still dragging on.”
- “A news article outlining the ongoing wait and delays to payouts/compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal.”
- “It was on the news about the implications and the suffering of the victims.”