IF your liver fails, you have 72 hours before you die. That's a fact Swindon's Kelvin Marshall was only too aware of when he needed a liver transplant.

Luckily his life was saved and now he is one of the ambassadors for Hep C Positive which is backing a new campaign launched today, called I'm Worth... set up by Gilead Sciences.

In the UK it is estimated that 214,000 people have hepatitis C, which is a blood borne virus. Half of them don't know they have the virus, and many of those that do know fear either the treatment or the stigma that is still attached to sufferers.

I'm Worth... has been set up to put across the message that it doesn't matter how you get Hep C everyone deserves treatment.

Kelvin, who was born in Deacon Street, said: "One of the reasons I became an ambassador for the campaign is I owe an unrepayable debt to the NHS.''

His story begins back in the 1970s when he believes he became infected with hepatitis C.

He was backpacking through Persia, Afghanistan and Pakistan and was deeply moved by the Third World poverty he saw but travelling from one place to another there was little he could do, so he donated his blood in all three countries.

"When I was giving blood in Pakistan the health authorities had been given a huge batch of vaccines for school children," he said.

"They were inundated with work and through no malice they were using the same needle on many of the children and since then whole villages have been diagnosed with hep C."

But the virus is a silent and deadly enemy that lies dormant sometimes for years and years.

Kelvin returned to Swindon, he met his wife Vivien, raised three children and had a career as chief buyer for branches of B&Q and Sainsbury's all across the UK. He had no symptoms and no idea that his liver was under constant and ferocious attack.

Thirty five years later, Kelvin and his wife were living in Andalucia, Spain, and would spend the winter months travelling.

"I was doing crazy stuff like zip wiring through the jungle canopy of Northern Thailand, canoeing down the Mekong River and then in the February I collapsed in Bali," he said.

"The damage had accelerated in just four weeks after years of lying dormant. I was given a transplant but it failed after 36 hours. I was on life support in an induced coma until they found me another new liver.''

Now, back living back in Swindon, Kelvin gives up his time to attend the Broadgreen Community Centre in Swindon every Monday between 6.30pm and 8.30pm to offer help and support to anyone interested in Hep C, whether they are suffering from the virus, caring for someone who has it, or someone afraid to seek treatment.

"We are there to debunk the myths of Hep C. A lot of cases are caused through intravenous drug use, using dirty needles or sharing needles. So, because of this many people think that they are not worthy of treatment," he said.

"We want them to know that it is in the NHS constitution that every patient suffering from Hep C has a right to treatment.''

Kelvin also belongs to the Liver4Life group manning the new helpline of 08000 743494 which is for everyone affected by liver conditions.

For more details about the I'm Worth... campaign and how it can help visit www.imworth.co.uk

What to do...

There are three steps everyone should be aware of with regard to Hep C, the first is get tested regularly, a simple blood test from your GP.

The second is referral to a specialist if you are diagnosed.

The third is treatment which today is far less toxic than previously. A new drug has cut out the need for chemotherapy-style treatments and the new Direct Action Anti Viral drugs means that 90 per cent of people can be cured.

The I'm Worth.... campaign

I'm Worth... website features information, advice, short films and stories from people affected by hepatitis C, aiming to encourage people living with the virus to seek help. The campaign is supported by: Liver4Life, Adfam, Blenheim CDP, Addaction, British Liver Trust, African Eye Trust, Africa Advocacy Foundation and is sponsored and developed by Gilead Sciences.

Fact file

  • The majority of people living with hepatitis C are from disadvantaged or marginalised communities.
  • People who inject drugs are at the highest risk of becoming infected with hepatitis C.
  • Almost 90 per cent of hepatitis C cases in the UK occur in people who inject drugs or have injected them in the past.
  • Other causes of hepatitis C include contaminated blood transfusions (either received abroad or in the UK prior to 1991) and unprotected sex but this is a very rare occurrence