Rosario Hermida

“Hello, I’m Rosario, I’m 56 and I have hepatitis C. How did I get it? I don’t know! But I know I contracted it a long time ago. It was most likely through a blood transfusion and by thinking that, I have freed myself from stigma. My diagnosis was by complete chance and late – I now have cirrhosis of the liver.

After I received my diagnosis, I felt pain and loneliness. People with hepatitis C continuing to be discriminated against. Personally, as a healthcare professional, I was forced to leave my job. This was something that really affected me because it was my profession and my job for many years – 25 years!

When I received the diagnosis, I approached the Asociación de Pacientes Afectados con la Hepatitis (APAHE) and I found out that there is a treatment that cures 90% of cases. And now I’m here, part of the association, fighting and demanding the treatment. It is my constitutional right to receive fair treatment!”