Memorial service for DVT families

Airlines have denied any links with flying and DVT

Read this story in Welsh

Friends and relatives of victims of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) gather in London on Monday for a memorial service.

Hundreds are expected to attend the event at St Martin-in-the-Field, Trafalgar Square, to remember those who died from the so-called "economy class syndrome".

The service - which will be the first time many of the victims' families and friends have met - has been organised by Ruth and John Christoffersen, whose 28-year-old daughter Emma died in October 2000 after stepping off a long-haul flight from Australia.

Airlines have strongly denied any link between DVT and flying, but the Christoffersens, from Newport, south Wales, have been campaigning for more public awareness of the risks of condition.

If all those people had died on a jumbo jet, there would have been a memorial service

Campaigner Ruth Christoffersen

The Christoffersens hope the service will help others like them come to terms with their losses.

"We realised there were a lot of people out there whose loved ones had died in the same way," Mrs Christoffersen said.

"If all those people had died on a jumbo jet, there would have been a memorial service as a natural progression."

Mrs Christoffersen will give a reading at the service and one of her favourite songs, Lead Me Lord, will be performed by Ruth Walland, whose husband survived DVT.

The names of some of those who have died will also be read out and prayers said.

More than 50 people from Wales alone will make the trip to London.

Ruth and John Christoffersen set up a support group

Among them will be Pat and Richard Brown from Swansea, whose 23-year-old daughter Sara developed a blood clot after flying back from her brother's wedding in Australia in 2001.

They said they had received "a great deal of support" from family and friends since the tragedy, but the pain of their loss remained.

"Your lives change drastically when something like this happens," Mrs Brown said.

"Every day you miss something that would have happened which will make you realise how much you've lost.

"And there's no need for it - this is a problem that can have a cure if only it is found in time."

The whole issue of DVT and claims that it could be linked to long-distance flights is a hugely controversial one.

Last year a High Court ruling blocked DVT compensation claims against airlines.

Mr Justice Nelson ruled that DVT could not be classed as an "accident" under the terms of the Warsaw Convention.

Campaginers immediately pledged to fight the decision, which is a stumbling block for 55 people who want to sue 27 airlines for damages.