Blood bank issues, use of HH blood, Legal litigation, etc.
Click on title for abstracts, articles, etc. related to these topics.

• American Medical Association Medical Student Section Resolution:
  1(I-97) Introduced by: Daniel P. Morin Massachusetts Delegation Subject:Use of Blood Therapeutically Drawn from Hemochromatosis Patients Referred to:Reference Committee B Peter Hazelton, Chair

• Blood donation by healthy individuals with haemochromatosis. N Z Med J. 2000 Mar 10 Results: Of 74 patients, 53 have been tested and shown to be homozygous for the Cys282Tyr mutation, and 30 of these (40%) fulfilled criteria for blood donation. This group is having 409 units of blood removed annually or 13-units per individual that is currently discarded. Of these 30 patients, all (100%) were keen to be blood donors. CONCLUSION: It is timely to review the policy regarding use of this wasted blood for transfusion.

• Blood Shortage Remedy Is Found, But Blood Banks and Fed Resist It  February, 2000, New York, NY By Jean E. Herskowitz   PROBENewsletter.com  Interview with Dr. Victor Herbert

• California Blood Bank Society

• FDA now approves hemochromatosis blood as normal donor blood.   
  Measuring serum iron status as part of routine blood testing will: 1] Prevent phenotypic disease in millions.  2] Save healthcare $billions  3] End U.S. biannual blood shortages.   By Dr. Victor Herbert

• Forever Ending Blood Shortages
  NY Times, Letters to the Editor July 25, 2000 by Dr. Victor Herbert, M.D., J.D., M.A.C.P., F.R.S.M.  

• Hereditary Haemochromatosis and Iron Metabolism, Carlson J, Olsson S, eJIFCC vol 13 no 2, THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF CLINICAL CHEMISTRY

• Hereditary hemochromatosis since discovery of the HFE gene Clin Chem 2001
  

• HFE mutations, iron deficiency and overload in 10,500 blood donors.   Br J Haematol 2001 Aug People with genetic haemochromatosis (GH) accumulate iron from excessive dietary absorption. In populations of northern European origin, over 90% of patients are homozygous for the C282Y mutation of the HFE gene.

• Is donating blood good for you?  Take it up with Cecil Adams on the Straight Dope message board.

• Letter to Secretary Shalala, Department of Health and Human Services, regarding Blood Safety
  May 7, 1997 JOHN D. DINGELL,  RANKING MEMBER

• Potential boost for blood supply
  By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY 9-26-01 Blood from donors with hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder treated by periodic bloodletting, could safely be used to boost the nation's blood supply by as much as 3 million units a year, suggests a study today in the Journal of the American Medical Association
  

• Prevalence, Donation Practices, and Risk Assessment of Blood Donors With Hemochromatosis
   JAMA. 2001  Although significant numbers of hemochromatosis patients reported donating blood for therapeutic reasons, our findings suggest that this population does not present a greater risk to blood safety than other donors.
   

• Red Cross response to my letter
  to them regarding the use of blood from Hemochromatosis patients. May 16, 1998

• Severity of iron overload in hemochromatosis, effect of volunteer blood donation before diagnosis 
  Barton, Preston, McDonnell, Rothenberg   An effort was made to determine if volunteer blood donation before diagnosis decreases the severity of iron overload in persons with hemochromatosis. [a pdf file]

• Study Finds Hemochromatosis Patients' Blood is as Safe as Other Donated Blood  
  May Help Alleviate Blood Shortage  NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH   Blood donors with hemochromatosis, a disorder in which iron accumulates in organs and body tissues, do not pose a greater risk to blood safety than other donors, according to the results of a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and published in the September 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association 2001.

• The Blood Bank community cannot afford to turn away 1 in 8 qualified donors simply because they want to give blood to avoid a heart attack. I hope that these studies together will compel Blood Bankers to rethink their opposition to using blood from hemochromatosis patients. Comments by Dr. Jerome Sullivan

• Use of Blood Therapeutically Drawn from Hemochromatosis Patients
  AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
  

• Use of Blood Drawn Therapeutically From Hemochromatosis Patients 
  AMA Report 1 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-99)

• Variances for Blood Collection from Individuals with Hereditary Hemochromatosis DRAFT GUIDANCE This guidance document represents FDA’s current thinking on the distribution of blood and blood components from individuals with hereditary hemochromatosis without disease labeling, and collecting blood more frequently than every eight weeks without a physical examination on the day of donation. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public. An alternative approach may be used if such approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations.

LEGAL LITIGATION ISSUES:

•  Blume Goldfaden Berkowitz Donnelly Fried & Forte in Chatham, N.J.  A group of attorneys willing to assist anyone who suffers from disability as a result of HH.  PLEASE NOTE:  I do NOT know this group personally, nor do I know anyone who has used their services.  I found them because of their website & am passing on their link.  [If someone does use them, I would appreciate hearing what you think!]

• PALM BEACH WOMAN WINS $2.2 MILLION FROM DOCTOR
  By Michael Lasalandra/Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The Palm Beach Post/Friday, June 25, 1993

• The Story of Joan & Tom Callender.  Tom required a liver transplant due to a late diagnosis of HH & they filed a suit against the healthcare giant Kaiser, who missed the diagnosis. 

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