Safety

White clumps in blood still a mystery

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, February 11, 2003

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking into whether unidentified white clumps in blood supplies in Georgia and Florida could have led to patient illnesses and in one case, a death.

The FDA encouraged blood banks across the country on February 7 to closely inspect bags of donated blood for the clumps, according to an announcement by the agency. The FDA says it is looking into whether the storage bags, produced by Baxter Healthcare Organization, could be the origin of the clumps, which the FDA says do not appear to contain any infectious materials.

In the case of the illnesses and the death, the FDA says there is no evidence so far that the white clumps were a contributing factor. In the case of the death, the patient had been seriously ill before receiving the transfusion.



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