Former darts world champion, 56, reveals doctors gave him six months to live after being injected with infected blood

DARTS legend Tony David has revealed how he was given just six months to live after being doctors told him his blood was infected.

David, 56, was crowned the winner of the WDF world championship in 2002.

PA:Press AssociationFormer WDF Darts world champion Tony David has called for action on the tainted blood scandal[/caption]

PA:Press AssociationDavid revealed he was given six months to live by doctors[/caption]

But just seven years later he was at deaths door with stage 4 liver disease.

David revealed he was told the cause of the illness was from blood plasma given to him as a child in Queensland which was infected with hepatitis C.

David is a haemophiliac, meaning he has a rare condition that affects the blood’s ability to clot.

Speaking to 9News, he said: “I had collapsed. Doctors basically told me I had about six months to live.”

He thankfully dodged a fatal outcome thanks to the first of three liver transplants he has needed to stay alive.

Thousands of Australians have contracted the deadly disease through tainted donor blood between the 1970s and early 1990s.

And David is now calling for action into the infected blood scandal as victims demand a royal commission to investigate along with an apology and compensation.

Thousands of Brits have also been hit by the “ticking timebomb” of undiagnosed hepatitis C and are being urged to get tested.

David, known as the Deadly Boomerang in his playing days, said: “What happened in the UK happened here, too.

“I know many who have died from this and I know what happened to me – they need to have a proper review in Australia.

“I am still alive to give my account.

“Yet so many aren’t with us and more are suffering with no monitoring and efforts to give them life-saving transplants.”

In the UK, it is estimated that as many as 30,000 patients could have received tainted blood infected with HIV or hepatitis — far higher than the numbers previously disclosed.

Rachel Halford, CEO of the Hepatitis C Trust, called the news “gravely concerning”.

The charity added: “Of those who had blood transfusions before September 1991, a very small percentage of these will be walking around with hepatitis C and not know it.

“If left untreated, hepatitis C is a ticking timebomb.

“We are urging people who had a transfusion before this date to get tested for hepatitis C if they have not already.”

The Russell Group of leading British universities says that each year, more than half a million people in the UK receive a blood transfusion.

Tomorrow, victims and relatives will gather at Westminster to hear the findings of the landmark Infected Blood Inquiry.

It has looked into how thousands of NHS patients between 1970 and the early 1990s were infected with HIV or hepatitis C because transfused blood was not screened first.

The UK was struggling to meet the demand for blood-clotting treatments so it imported supplies from the US, including donations from high-risk donors such as prison inmates and drug users.

UK blood donations were not routinely screened until 1991, 18 months after the first virus was identified in a laboratory.

Ministers at the time were accused of a cover-up, and it is thought almost 3,000 people have died.

The inquiry heard one person loses their life as a result of contaminated blood every four days.

The Hepatitis C Trust already receives two calls a month from people who have just discovered they have the virus following the historic transfusions.

Charity boss Rachel Halford added: “It is gravely concerning that there are people out there who do not know they have hepatitis C.

“If left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

“There is no way of knowing how many people have been infected, so we urge anyone who had a transfusion prior to the mid-1990s who hasn’t already been tested to come forward for screening.”

WHAT TO DO

By The Sun’s GP Dr Zoe Williams

ANYONE who received a blood transfusion, or other blood products, between 1970 and 1991 in the UK could be at risk and should get tested.

Especially at risk are haemophiliacs and those with similar disorders who have a rare genetic condition which means their blood does not clot properly – and means they often require treatment with blood products, starting in childhood.

Hepatitis C is curable and 97 per cent of people who receive treatment can expect to make a full recovery.

A simple course of tablets takes between eight and 12 weeks.

Symptoms may include fatigue, digestive issues, itchy skin, brain fog or depression.

If you think you could have been exposed to hepatitis C, it is important to be tested even if you have no symptoms, as this infection can be silently doing harm to your liver.

With modern medicine, most people can be cured from hepatitis C infection and live healthy lives.

You can ask for a hepatitis C test from your GP, sexual health clinic, antenatal clinic if pregnant, and some pharmacies.

If you live in England, you are now able to order a free finger-prick test online from the NHS.

After you have sent your blood sample, you will be contacted with your test result within two weeks.

If you test positive, an NHS health care professional will call you to discuss the result.

The Hepatitis C Trust helpline is available to call on 020 7089 6221.

Or email helpline@hepctrust.org.uk.