background
In 1978 and 1979, several thousand women in the former GDR were infected with the hepatitis C virus after having children as part of a so-called “anti-D” immune prophylaxis. With the immunoglobulin preparation, the supply of which was required by law in the former GDR, blood intolerance between mother and child should be avoided in later pregnancies. However, the batches of the “anti-D” immunoprophylaxis were contaminated with the hepatitis C virus.
Since 2000, those affected have been compensated on the basis of the “Act on Assistance for Persons Infected with the Hepatitis C Virus through Anti-D Immunoprophylaxis” (AntiDHG). Compensation payments under the law include monthly pension payments, the amount of which depends on the degree of damage.
Thanks to medical advances in antiviral therapy, most cases of hepatitis C have now been cured. As a result, in some cases the compensation payments were reduced or stopped altogether. These cuts should be reversed.