Guest guest Posted January 19, 1999 Report Share Posted January 19, 1999 Britain's Cow Illness Is Issue in Donating of Blood By WARREN LEARY WASHINGTON -- A scientific advisory panel is asking the Food and Drug Administration to consider a basic question: Should a past travel itinerary help determine who is eligible to donate blood? The panel wants the agency to examine the possibility of barring blood donations from people who have lived in or visited Great Britain since 1980 because of concerns about mad cow disease. Most reported cases of this fatal animal disease, and a human variant, have occurred in the British Isles. Because such a move could have a huge impact on blood collection in the United States, the panel asked the FDA and blood supply groups to survey donors and assess the ramifications of blocking perhaps hundreds of thousands of current contributors from giving blood. Although there is no evidence that a human version of mad cow disease is transmitted through blood or blood products, and there are no recorded cases of the human disease in the United States, experts on the panel said they were concerned about the possibility that a link between blood and the disease could arise. The risk of transmitting the disease through blood appears to be very low, said a panel member, Dr. S. Burke, the director of the Center for Immunization Research at s Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. " However, we don't want to find ourselves in a position where we didn't take the problem seriously and it crops up as a major health issue 10 or 20 years later, " Burke said in an interview. He noted the criticism leveled at health authorities over AIDS by those who contend the epidemic might have been mitigated if the disease had been taken more seriously and fought more aggressively earlier. Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is believed to be caused by infectious protein particles called prions, perhaps with the aid of viruses or other agents. The disease kills brain cells, leaving the organ full of holes and resembling a sponge. A small percentage of people develop a similar condition, usually late in life, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which appears to be hereditary in many cases but sometimes occurs in isolation. In Britain, 34 people have come down with what is called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which afflicts a younger population than the traditional condition. Some scientists suspect that the new illness is a variation of the animal disease, which may be transferred to humans from contaminated meat. At a meeting last month, the agency advisory committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, which is composed of medical and veterinary experts, voted 9-6 to consider blocking blood donations from people who had spent time in Britain in the height of the mad cow outbreak and, therefore, may have been exposed to the disease. Representatives of the American Red Cross told the panel that preliminary surveys of donors indicated that barring blood donations by people who lived or traveled in Britain would reduce the nation's blood supply by 10 percent and require recruiting as many as one million donors. Panel members say that before they take up the matter again at a meeting this spring, when they are likely to vote on a formal recommendation to the agency, they need more information on the impact of such a policy. Besides worries about the effects on blood availability in this country, panelists said they were concerned about the impact on rejected donors and the perceptions they might harbor over their individual risks of disease. There is also the question of time spent in Britain. Would a person who passed through a British airport or someone who spent a weekend in London be ineligible to donate blood? Or would living in the country for several weeks or months be required? Tuesday, January 19, 1999 aol://4344:104.nytcopy.6445375.574106743 " >Copyright 1999 The New York Times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 1999 Report Share Posted January 19, 1999 Just a little tidbit for anyone interested.... My cousin received a call from Bonfils Blood Center here in Denver asking her to come and donate blood because they were low on supply and she has an O blood type that anyone can receive. Every time she goes, she has to fill out a Health Inventory Questionerre. One of the last questions, which was not there before was " Has any blood relative been diagnosed with CJD? " She answered the question, yes, and went back to talk to the nurse there. She explained that had gotten CJD from dura mater during her surgery and that there was no sign of a genetic link. They told her that they were sure that was true, however, as a precaution, they were no longer going to accept blood from anyone that had a blood relative with CJD. I thought that was interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 1999 Report Share Posted January 19, 1999 Hi, Here in CT that is the case too.My Sisiter was turned down as a blood donor because of our Mothers death from CJD.That is what made me turn towards the WWW in search of more information on the disease after 10 years have passed since my Mothers death.This forum has been a wealth of information.Thank God for all the hard work involved here. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 20, 1999 Report Share Posted January 20, 1999 : I am so perplexed by the double standards here concerning blood. Let me try to explain....they will defer a relative from donating blood, if you have had HGH injections, or a blood relative pass away from the disease. They WILL NOT recall product that has been donated from a person with CJD as found recently with the new lax rulings. My son who received recalled product (when they did recall) can still donate his own blood. So under their rulings it makes NO sense to defer relatives from donating....... And they wonder why the blood issue is and remains a sensitive issue for most people. a G. ---------- > From: Bunababy@... > To: cjdvoice (AT) onelist (DOT) com > Subject: Re: New York Times Article > Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 8:55 PM > > From: Bunababy@... > > Just a little tidbit for anyone interested.... > > My cousin received a call from Bonfils Blood Center here in Denver asking her > to come and donate blood because they were low on supply and she has an O > blood type that anyone can receive. > > Every time she goes, she has to fill out a Health Inventory Questionerre. > One of the last questions, which was not there before was " Has any blood > relative been diagnosed with CJD? " She answered the question, yes, and went > back to talk to the nurse there. She explained that had gotten CJD from > dura mater during her surgery and that there was no sign of a genetic link. > They told her that they were sure that was true, however, as a precaution, > they were no longer going to accept blood from anyone that had a blood > relative with CJD. > > I thought that was interesting... > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.