The proceedings began with people explaining how contaminated blood products affected their lives. The first person to give evidence was 20 year old Karen Stevens, whose father, Jerome, contracted HIV from a clotting agent given to him during an operation. Karen spoke about the manner in which AIDS crippled her father, brought searing pain and, ultimately, killed him. She was at school at the time and other children refused to play with her because she had the stigma of AIDS. If ever there was a heart rending situation, that is one. She was one of only 30 people who spoke out. Some witnesses, like Ray Kelly, chose to speak publicly. He explained how his 13 year old son died in agony from the AIDs related illness caused by clotting agents. However, most witnesses gave evidence anonymously using pseudonyms and often behind a screen. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to work out the reason they did that. One need only refer to the experience of Karen Stephens.