News items constitute an arbitrary selection of events. Links to some news items may no longer be active. News items are for the current year only. Canadian news is covered in Wha

• Contaminated blood inquiry to visit Norwich in February (16 Jan. 2020)

t's New and Monthly newsletters.

Index: General | Specific countries (change over time)

GENERAL

• AABB: Interim Standards to 31st ed. of Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (13 Dec. 2019, Association Bulletin #19-03)
• Global platelet-rich plasma market valued at $195.2m USD in 2017 projected to expand at a CAGR of 12.0% from 2018 to 2026| CAGR: Compound annual growth rate (3 Dec. 2019)
• Big Pharma money does influence what doctors prescribe, report finds (20 Dec. 2019)
• Brit Med J launches global campaign to separate medicine from Big Pharma (4 Dec. 2019)
• Canadian tissue banks ready to help victims of NZ volcanic eruption (13 Dec 2019)
• Scientists visualize competition between healthy, dysfunctional platelets (12 Dec. 2019)
  • Lee RH, Piatt R, Dhenge A, Lozano ML, Palma-Barqueros V, Rivera J, Bergmeier W. Impaired hemostatic activity of healthy transfused platelets in inherited and acquired platelet disorders: Mechanisms and implications. Sci Transl Med. 2019 Dec 11;11(522). pii: eaay0203.
• Fresh red blood cell transfusions do not help critically ill children more than older cells (10 Dec. 2019)
  • Spinella PC, Tucci M, Fergusson DA, Lacroix J, Hébert PC, Leteurtre S, et al.; ABC-PICU Investigators, the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Network, the BloodNet Pediatric Critical Care Blood Research Network, and the Groupe Francophone de Réanimation et Urgences P. Effect of fresh vs standard-issue red blood cell transfusions on multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in critically ill pediatric patients: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2019 Dec 10; 322(22):2179-90.
• The burden of platelet transfusions in patients with chronic liver disease (26 Nov. 2019)
  • Brown Jr RS, Bentley R, Cai B, Flamm SL, Kanakamedala H, Lai J, et al. The clinical and economic burden of patients with chronic liver disease and thrombocytopaenia receiving platelet transfusions during planned invasive procedures. GastroHep 2019;1(5): 236-48. (Open access)
• What's in the average transfusion? Anti-anxiety drugs, caffeine, cough medicines. (26 Nov. 2019)
  • Chen L, van Breemen RB. Validation of a sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method for cytochrome P450 probe substrates caffeine, tolbutamide, dextromethorphan, and alprazolam in human serum reveals drug contamination of serum used for research. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2019 Nov 10:112983. [Epub ahead of print]
• Early plasma transfusion may benefit women with persistent postpartum hemmorrhage ( 16 Nov. 2019)
  • Henriquez DDCA, Caram-Deelder C, le Cessie S, Zwart JJ, van Roosmalen JJM, Eikenboom JCJ, et al; TeMpOH-1 Research Group. Association of timing of plasma transfusion with adverse maternal outcomes in women with persistent postpartum hemorrhage.JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Nov 1;2(11):e1915628. Epub 15 Nov. 2019. (Open access)
• First new HIV strain in 19 years identified (6 Nov. 2019) | Related:
  • Scientists discover new subtype of HIV (6 Nov. 2019)
  • Yamaguchi J, McArthur C, Vallari A, Sthreshley L, Cloherty GA, Berg MG, Rodgers MA. Complete genome sequence of CG-0018a-01 establishes HIV-1 subtype L. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 Nov 6. [Epub ahead of print]
• Study finds flow cytometry may allow more accurate detection of RBC autoantibody formation in thalassemia patients compared with DAT (5 Nov. 2019)
  • Thedsawad A, Taka O, Wanachiwanawin W. Prevalence and clinical significances of red cell alloimmunization and red cell bound immunoglobulin G in polytransfused patients with thalassemias. Hematology. 2019 Dec;24(1):208-14. (Free full text)
• Canada: Blood system safer because of landmark study at UHN (21 Oct. 2019)
  • Callum J, Farkouh ME, Scales DC, Heddle NM, Crowther M, Rao V, et al; FIBRES Research Group. Effect of fibrinogen concentrate vs cryoprecipitate on blood component transfusion after cardiac surgery: The FIBRES Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019 Oct 21:1-11. [Epub ahead of print]
• AABB meeting highlights (blog)
• From the archives: Ruiz MT, Verbrugge LM. A two way view of gender bias in medicine. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1997 Apr;51(2):106-9. (Free full text)
• Austrian skier Max Hauke receives five-month jail sentence for 'serious sports fraud' (30 Oct. 2019) | He'd already received four-year ban by Austrian Anti-Doping Agency for being caught during a blood transfusion in 'Aderlass' scandal.
• Anemia and risk of transfusion after vaginal delivery (29 Oct. 2019)
  • Echevarria G, Dgheim C, Junior CC, Grant GJ. Anemia at admission for labor and delivery and the risk of transfusion after vaginal delivery. (Abstract A3046)
• UK: The Naked Scientists Podcast: Blood Under The Microscope
  • The history of blood (22 Oct. 2019) | Interview with Elise Burton, University of Cambridge - audiotape and transcript
  • Making blood in the lab (22 Oct. 2019) | Interview with, Cedric Ghevaert, University of Cambridge
  • The science of giving blood (22 Oct. 2019) | Interview with, Steven Thomas, NHS Blood and Transplant
  • Making new blood vessels (22 Oct. 2019) Interview with Jo Mountford, Scottish National Transfusion Service - audiotape and transcript
    • McCracken IR, Taylor RS, Kok FO, de la Cuesta F, Dobie R, Henderson BEP, Mountford JC, et al. Transcriptional dynamics of pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cell differentiation revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing. Eur Heart J. 2019 Jun 26. pii: ehz351. [Epub ahead of print]
• Hospitals around the world have a dire shortage of blood (22 Oct. 2019)
  • Roberts N, James S, Delaney M, Fitzmaurice C. The global need and availability of blood products: a modelling study. Lancet Haematol. 2019 Oct 17. pii: S2352-3026(19)30200-5. [Epub ahead of print]
• Will blood-bearing delivery drones transform disaster relief and battlefield medicine? (22 Oct. 2019)
• Women with anemia twice as likely to need transfusion after cesarean delivery (21 Oct. 2019)
• Extreme preemies are at risk of severe blood loss from lab testing (9 Oct. 2019)
  • Counsilman CE, Heeger LE, Tan R, Bekker V, Zwaginga JJ, Te Pas AB, Lopriore E. Iatrogenic blood loss in extreme preterm infants due to frequent laboratory tests and procedures. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 Oct 6:1-6. [Epub ahead of print] (Open access)
• In genetic disease, who has the right to know—or not know—what? (The Economist, 26 Sept. 2019)
• Yellow fever and malaria In USA? With climate crisis, it's possible (30 Sept. 2019) | Climate change affects spread of infectious diseases
• USA: Planning for the worst: blood transfusion during deep space exploration (21 Sept. 2019)
  • Nowak ES, Reyes DP, Bryant BJ, Cap AP, Kerstman EL, Antonsen EL. Blood transfusion for deep space exploration. Transfusion. 2019 Sep 6. [Epub ahead of print]
• Australia's Monash University with industry partners develop world's first laser incubator for blood grouping and potentially pretransfusion testing (20 Sept. 2019)
  • Manderson CA, McLiesh H, Curvello R, Tabor RF, Manolios J, Garnier G. Photothermal incubation of red blood cells by laser for rapid pre-transfusion blood group typing. Sci Rep. 2019 Aug 2;9(1):11221. (Open access)
• Michael Schumacher released from Paris hospital after experimental stem cell treatment (18 Sept. 2019)
  • Michael Schumacher health warning: ‘Miracle’ stem-cell treatment attacked by neurologist (12 Sept. 2019) Related:
  • U.S. FDA warns about stem cell therapies (3 Sept. 2019)
• Austrian cyclist Preidler charged with fraud in Operation Aderlass blood doping inquiry (18 Sept. 2019)
• Simonsson P, Tjernberg I. Patient-initiated diagnostics - a challenge for laboratory medicine. [**Article in Swedish - Use Chrome browser and choose 'Translate'] Lakartidningen. 2019 Apr 2;116. pii: FIFW. | English abstract
• Using statistics to prevent the loss of blood donors (10 Sept. 2019) | Related:
  • Marieke Vinkenoog and BloodStart
  • Challenges and limitations in clustering blood donor hemoglobin trajectories. In: 4th Workshop on Advanced Analytics and Learning on Temporal Data at ECML PKDD (European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases), 2019.
• Study: HPV could spread via blood transfusions (12 Sept. 2019)
  • Cladel NM, Jiang P, Li JJ, Peng X, Cooper TK, Majerciak V, et al. Papillomavirus can be transmitted through the blood and produce infections in blood recipients: Evidence from two animal models. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2019;8(1):1108-21. (Free full text)
• Review of 'The King of Hell's Palace' (13 Sept. 2019) | Play about China's 1990s blood scandal. Background:
  • Chinese AIDS scandal (11 June 2001)
• Hemophilia three times more prevalent worldwide than thought, study finds (11 Sept. 2019)
  • Iorio A, Stonebraker JS, Chambost H, Makris M, Coffin D, Herr C, et al. Establishing the prevalence and prevalence at birth of hemophilia in males: a meta-analytic approach using national registries. Ann Intern Med. 2019 Sep 10. [Epub ahead of print]
• Canada: Young transplant recipient gets 3-D models of his damaged heart (11 Sept. 2019)
  • Alberta boy gets ‘Star Wars’ model of his heart (3:11 min. video: it's worth the wait) (11 Sept. 2019)
• Gender equality: 'No room at the top for women scientists' (6 Sept. 2019)
  • Beeler WH, Smith-Doody KA, Ha R, Aiyar RS, Schwarzbach E, Solomon SL, Jagsi R. Institutional report cards for gender equality: lessons learned from benchmarking efforts for women in STEM. Cell Stem Cell. 2019 Sep 5;25(3):306-310. (Free full text)
• Australian study raises concerns over elderly blood management (3 Sept. 2019)
  • Simon GI, Craswell A, Thom O, Chew MS, Anstey CM, Fung YL. Impacts of aging on anemia tolerance, transfusion thresholds, and patient blood management. Transfus Med Rev. 2019 Jul;33(3):154-61. Epub 2019 Apr 5.
• Resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock via transfusion of anaerobically stored RBCs improves outcomes in rats (4 Sept. 2019)
  • Williams AT, Jani VP, Nemkov T, Lucas A, Yoshida T, Dunham A, et al. Transfusion of anaerobically or conventionally stored blood after hemorrhagic shock. Shock. 2019 Aug 30. [Epub ahead of print]
• Zupanic M, Rebacz P, Ehlers JP. Media use among students from different health curricula: survey study. JMIR Med Educ. 2019 Aug 19; 5(2):e12809. (Free full text)
• Artificial intelligence in medicine: applications, implications, and limitations (19 June 2019) Related:
  • Chen JH, Asch SM.Machine learning and prediction in medicine — beyond the peak of inflated expectations. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jun 29; 376(26): 2507–9.
• Giving trauma patients blood pressure stabilizing hormone cuts transfusions by half (28 Aug. 2019)
  • Sims CA, Holena D, Kim P, Pascual J, Smith B, Martin N, et al. Effect of low-dose supplementation of arginine vasopressin on need for blood product transfusions in patients with trauma and hemorrhagic shock: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Surg. 2019 Aug 28. [Epub ahead of print]
• Big Pharma (Canada):
  • Big pharma paid $151M to doctors, hospitals in 2017-18, but we don’t know who got paid or why (19 Aug. 2019, Part 4 of 4)
  • Big pharma pours millions into medical schools — here’s how it can impact education (12 Aug. 2019, Part 3 of 4)
• Blood doping
  • 2019 has seen a rise in number of doping cases (30 Aug. 2019)
  • Russian race walker Medvedeva given 8-year doping ban (30 Aug. 2019)
  • Russian race walker Bakulin banned for 8 years (21 Aug. 2019)
  • Russian state sports facility says contract with banned race walking coach Chegin voided after Reuters report (29 Aug. 2019)
  • Doping among leading Kenyan athletes (28 Aug. 2019) | 2:34 min video
  • Italian cyclist Petacchi handed 2-year ban for blood doping (24 Aug. 2019)
• AABB announces transfusion medicine and cellular therapy leaders who will receive its 2019 Memorial Awards (13 Aug. 2019)
• 10 body parts you didn't know you could sell (16 Aug. 2019)
• Reducing transfusion burden and addressing unmet needs in beta thalassemia (8 Aug. 2019)
  • Shah FT, Sayani F, Trompeter S, Drasar E, Piga A. Challenges of blood transfusions in ß-thalassemia. Blood Rev. 2019 Jul 6:100588. [Epub ahead of print]
• Millionaires drop tens of 1000s on 'young blood' transfusions and cryonic preservation. 5 ways the wealthy invest in trying to live forever (2 Aug. 2019)
• Larger volumes of blood transfusions to children with severe anaemia in sub-Saharan Africa could halve the number of deaths (2 Aug. 2019)
  • Maitland K,et al., for the TRACT Group Immediate transfusion in African children with uncomplicated severe anemia. N Engl J Med 2019;381:407-19. (EPub 1 Aug. 2019)
• Prehospital TXA for Trauma (1 Aug. 2019)
  • El-Menyar A, Sathian B, Wahlen BM, Abdelrahman H, Peralta R, Al-Thani H, Rizoli S. Prehospital administration of tranexamic acid in trauma patients: A 1:1 matched comparative study from a level 1 trauma center. Am J Emerg Med. 2019 Apr 30. pii: S0735-6757(19)30293-1. [Epub ahead of print]
• Blood transfusion reactions twice as common in postpartum women (31 July 2019)
  • Thurn L, Wikman A, Westgren M, Lindqvist PG. Incidence and risk factors of transfusion reactions in postpartum blood transfusions. Blood Advances 2019;3:2298-2306. (Free full text)
• World Hepatitis Day (28 July 2019)
  • WHO urges countries to invest in eliminating hepatitis (26 July 2019)
• Harrold IM, Bean SM, Williams NC. Emerging from the basement: the visible pathologist. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2019 Aug;143(8):917-8. (Free full text)
• Two Austrian cross-country skiers given four-year bans in latest twist of Aderlass affair (23 July 2019) | Operation Aderlass (Operation bloodletting) is the name of an investigation into alleged doping practices by German physician Mark Schmidt.
• Six things Big Pharma doesn't want you to know (Médecins Sans Frontières, 10 July 2019)
• Can red cell exchange treat advanced sickle cell disease? (10 July 2019)
• 3D printed technology streamlines ELISA, lowers cost (25 June 2019)
• World Blood Donor Day (14 June) | 2019 theme: Safe blood for all | 38 sec. WHO video
• Industry news: What Bluebird Bio gets wrong in pricing for its $1.8 Million drug to treat ß thalasemmia (19 June 2019) | Bluebird Bio website
• USA: CDC investigates after 4 patients got sepsis from contaminated platelet transfusions (13 June 2019)
• Red blood cell donor pregnancy history not tied to mortality after transfusion (11 June 2019)
• Type A blood converted to universal donor blood with help from bacterial enzymes (10 June 2019) | Related:
  • Rahfeld P, et al. An enzymatic pathway in the human gut microbiome that converts A to universal O type blood. Nat Microbiol 2019. EPub 10 June 2019.
• D-Day 75 years on - How Bristol was the blood donation epicentre for the UK war effort (6 June 2019)
• Yeah, young blood transfusions do seem to fight aging (3 June 2019)
  • Two brain-rejuvenating proteins have been identified in young blood (3 June 2019)
  • Gan KJ, Südhof TC. Specific factors in blood from young but not old mice directly promote synapse formation and NMDA-receptor recruitment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jun 3. pii: 201902672. [Epub ahead of print]
• Medical mistrust is a significant barrier to blood donation among minorities, research finds (21 May 2019)
  • Spratling R, Lawrence RH. Facilitators and barriers to minority blood donations: a systematic review. Nurs Res. 2019 May/Jun;68(3):218-26.
• Canada: Blood donation waiting period for men who have sex with men reduced to three months (8 May 2019)
• ASCO/ASH Guideline update for cancer-associated anemia management with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (7 May 2019)
  • Bohlius J, Bohlke K, Castelli R, Djulbegovic B, Lustberg MB, Martino M, et al. Management of cancer-associated anemia with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: ASCO/ASH clinical practice guideline update. Blood Adv. 2019 Apr 23;3(8):1197-1210. (Free full text)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola outbreak approaches 1400 cases (26 Apr. 2019)
• Having a particular ABO blood type helps protect you from severe malaria (24 Apr. 2019)
  • Degarege A, Gebrezgi MT, Ibanez G, Wahlgren M, Madhivanan P. Effect of the ABO blood group on susceptibility to severe malaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Blood Rev. 2019 Jan;33:53-62. Epub 2018 Jul 17. (Free full text)
• Pew Charitable Trusts: 'Poor' EHR usability can provoke drug, treatment errors for pediatric patients (24 Apr. 2019)
  • Ratwani RM, Savage E, Will A, Fong A, Karavite D, Muthu N, et al. Identifying electronic health record usability and safety challenges in pediatric settings. Health Aff (Millwood). 2018 Nov; 37(11):1752-9.
• Historical tidbit: Knodell RG, Conrad ME, Dienstag JL, Bell CJ. Etiological spectrum of post-transfusion hepatitis. Gastroenterology. 1975 Dec;69(6):1278-85. (Free full text)
• Historical tidbit: How a typo created a scapegoat for the AIDS epidemic (17 Apr. 2019)
• New study exposes need for better management of anaemia (IFPBM press release, 10 Apr. 2019)
  • Trentino KM, Leahy MF, Sanfilippo FM, Farmer SL, Hofmann A, Mace H, Murray K. Associations of nadir haemoglobin level and red blood cell transfusion with mortality and length of stay in surgical specialties: a retrospective cohort study. Anaesthesia. 2019 Apr 1. [Epub ahead of print]
• Perioperative blood management - International group releases consensus statement (3 Apr. 2019)
  • Zeller MP, Kaufman RM. Safeguarding the patient’s own blood supply. (editorial) JAMA. 2019;321(10):943-5.
  • Mueller MM, Van Remoortel H, Meybohm P, Aranko K, Aubron C, Burger R, et al. Patient Blood Management: Recommendations From the 2018 Frankfurt Consensus Conference. JAMA. 2019 Mar 12;321(10):983-97.
• Gardner JM, McKee PH. Social media use for pathologists of all ages. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2019 Mar;143(3):282-6. (Free full text)
• Razzano D, Hall A, Gardner JM, Jiang XS. Pathology engagement in global health: exploring opportunities to get involved. Arch Pathol Lab Med April 2019 Apr;143(4): 418-21.(Free full text)
• What a no-deal Brexit could mean for the haematology and haematology-oncology communities (editorial) The Lancet Hematol 2019 Mar 1;6(PE110) | Download pdf
• The Body Economy: Blood products in the Marketplace (Dalhousie University, 2:29 min. animated video) (16 Mar. 2019) Related website:
  • Impact Ethics | Managed by Memorial University Centre for Bioethics
• No, European blood is not 'incompatible' with that of refugees (8 Mar. 2019)
• New method to assess platelet health could help ER doctors (13 Mar. 2019)
  • Ting L H, Feghhi S, Taparia N, Smith AO, Karchin A, Lim E, et al. Contractile forces in platelet aggregates under microfluidic shear gradients reflect platelet inhibition and bleeding risk. Nature Communications, 2019;10 (1) (Free full text)
• Aluminium hazard in transfusions? (5 Mar. 2019)
  • Perl T, Kunze-Szikszay N, Bräuer A, Quintel M, Röhrig AL, Kerpen K, et al. Aluminium release by coated and uncoated fluid-warming devices. Anaesthesia. 2019 Feb 21. [Epub ahead of print]
• Kasper CK. Judith Graham Pool and the discovery of cryoprecipitate. Haemophilia. 2012 Nov;18(6):833-5. (Free full text) | To celebrate International Women's Day
• Blood doping:
  • Austrian policeman charged with malpractice for leaking video of skier getting blood transfusion at Nordic World Ski Championships (25 Mar. 2019)
  • Doping probe of German doctor leads to 21 athletes from 8 countries (20 Mar. 2019)
  • Blood doping whistleblower released but still a suspect, say Austrian authorities (6 Mar. 2019)
  • Blood doping cases a reminder for cycling not to get complacent (8 Mar. 2019)
  • Austrian cyclist Preidler admits to blood extraction as doping investigation widens (4 Mar. 2019)
  • Police walk in at the perfect moment to catch Austrian skier blood doping at World Nordic Ski Championships in Norway (1 Mar. 2019)
• Canadian researchers develop new technique to assess blood quality without breaching blood bag sterility (14 Feb. 2019)
  • Vardaki MZ , Atkins CG , Schulze HG , Devine DV , Serrano K , Blades MW , Turner RFB. Raman spectroscopy of stored red blood cell concentrate within sealed transfusion blood bags. Analyst. 2018 Dec 3;143(24):6006-13.
• Dialogue with AABB President, Dr. Michael Murphy (MLO, 23 Jan. 2019)
• 'Unspeakable' TV series on Canada's 'Tainted Blood Scandal'
  • CBC's 'Unspeakable' historical timeline
  • Sneak peek of episode 8 ['Apologies'] (27 Feb. 2019)
  • Sneak peek of episode 7 ['Intent'] (20 Feb. 2019)
  • Sneak peek of episode 6 ['Krever'] (13 Feb. 2019)
  • Sneak peek of episode 5 ['Compensation'] (6 Feb. 2019)
  • Sneak peek of episode 4 [Focus on unsafe heat-treated FVIII concentrate made by Armour] (30 Jan. 2019)
  • Sneak peek of episode 3 [Focus on heat-treated FVIII concentrate] (23 Jan. 2019)
  • From one unaware donor to a patient in need of blood. Watch how it happened in this sneak peek clip of episode 2 (16 Jan. 2019)
  • Timeline of events (1981-83) covering discovery, transmission, first reported cases of Canada's 'Tainted Blood Scandal' (CBC's 'Unspeakable' series)
  • 'Unspeakable' chronicles saga of two families impacted by Canada's 'Tainted Blood Scandal' (Premieres 9 Jan. 2019; 2:45 trailer) Based on two books:
    • The gift of death: Confronting Canada's tainted-blood tragedy (1995) by André Picard
    • Bad Blood: The Tragedy Of The Canadian Tainted Blood Scandal (2002) by Vic Parsons
• From the archives - Global trade in organs
  • One doctor’s war against global organ trafficking (29 May 2017, PBS)
  • Author of 'Red Market' sees growth in organ trade (26 Apr. 2018)
  • Organ trafficking: Hiding in plain sight (26 June 2018)
  • 'Bloody Harvest -Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China' (2007) | You can also download 237pp. report as .pdf
• Super-fast logistics of delivering blood by drone (25 Jan. 2019) | 13:31 min. video | Features UK's NHSBT and Rwanda
• Higher platelet transfusion threshold appeared to increase risk for death and major bleeding among preterm infants with severe thrombocytopenia (16 Jan. 2019)
  • Curley A, Stanworth SJ, Willoughby K, Fustolo-Gunnink SF, Venkatesh V, Hudson C, et al. Randomized trial of platelet-transfusion thresholds in neonates. N Engl J Med. 2019 Jan 17;380(3):242-51. Epub 2018 Nov 2.
• The history of blood (14 Jan. 2019) | Review of 'Nine Pints' (Rose George) by U.S. hematologist
• A guided tour of human blood: past, present, and future (4 Jan. 2019) | Review of 'Nine Pints' by Dr. David Scales
• Gardner JM, Allen TC. Keep calm and tweet on: legal and ethical considerations for pathologists using social media. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2019 Jan; 143(1):75-80.

International

Australia / New Zealand (Down Under)

• Health Minister admits Queensland hospitals may have higher rate of mislabelled blood tests than reported (13 Dec. 2019)
• NZ: NZBS contacting group AB plasma donors to help replenish stocks following Whakaari/White Island eruption (12 Dec. 2019)
• Australian Red Cross Lifeblood changes name, needs donations as fires rage (15 Nov. 2019)
• CSL share price just hit an all-time high (29 Oct. 2019) Background:
  • 25 years of CSL: What can we learn? (28 Oct. 2019)
• Former Minister of Health breaks years of government compensation refusals in 2014 advice to hepatitis C victim (13 Oct. 2019)
• Life-saving heroes should be paid for their donations (Oped, 11 Oct. 2019) | Related:
  • Dhingra N. In defense of WHO's voluntary blood donation policy. (letter) Science 2013 Nov 8;342(6159):691.
• Victims say it's time for UK-style inquiry into Australian tainted blood scandal (3 Oct. 2019)
• Man says his story shows why rules on gay blood donors must change (13 Sept. 2019)
• Australia's CSL sees another record profit in 2020; shares soar (13 Aug. 2019)
• NZ: Woman died after Waitemata DHB staff failed to properly treat her ongoing bleeding (22 July 2019)
  • Report by the Health and Disability Commissioner (17 June 2019)
• Urgent demand for plasma forces NZBS try and get 55,000 new donors, especially middle-aged men (11 June 2018)
• In unique case, man appears to have cleared his HIV infection (11 June 2019) Related:
  • Zaunders J et al. Possible clearance of transfusion-acquired Nef and LTR-deleted attenuated HIV-1 infection by an elite controller with CCR5 Δ32 heterozygous and HLA-B57 genotype. J Virus Erad 2019, issue 2. Online publication, June 2019. (Open access)
  • Zaunders J, Dyer WB, Churchill M. The Sydney Blood Bank Cohort: implications for viral fitness as a cause of elite control. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2011 May;6(3):151-6.
• Nation's ethnic face is changing, and so are its blood types (8 May 2019)
• Contaminated blood recipients look to London this week as inquiry public hearings start (29 Apr. 2019)
• Thousands of Australians will be looking to London this week (29 Apr. 2019)
• John Malcolm Duggan (1927-2018), one of Australia’s earliest advocates for a patient focus for transfusion medicine and patient blood management (19 Apr. 2019)
• In 1985 Eve van Grafhorst diagnosed with HIV and hounded out of nation but her legacy endures (17 Nov. 2018) | Archival human interest story
• Global search finds fifth donor in Australia for In(b-) child in USA (11 Feb. 2019)
• Highest rates of infection by HTLV-I, but no one cares (11 Jan. 2019) Related earlier item:
  • HTLV-1 is endemic across central Australia. Testing takes six months and is not freely available (24 Apr. 2018)

China/Hong Kong

• Dr. Shuping Wang, whistleblower heroine who exposed China's HIV scandal dies at 59 (26 Sept. 2019)
• Recurring nightmare: tainted blood products (20 Feb. 2019)
• Nation not alone in blood plasma HIV scares, but must find out why it happened (12 Feb. 2019)
• Blood plasma scandal latest stain on China's medical products image (7 Feb. 2019)

Denmark

• Min. of Health announces MSM blood donors can donate after 4 mths deferral, effective 2019 (17 Aug. 2018) | Danish (Right click to translate to Eng

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)

• Students remain the main source of safe blood (WHO, 26 June 2019)

France

• Restrictions on blood donations from gay men to be changed to 4 months without MSM (17 July 2019)
• Gay rights activists complain to EU over French blood donor MSM ban (20 June 2019)

Ghana

• Donating blood does not affect one's health - Expert (19 Oct. 2019)
• Drones like Uber, but for blood, help sick people but some think they’re $12 million mistake (4 June 2019)
• Health Ministry issues directive to ensure transport of blood from one facility to another is done by only qualified health professionals, not patients's relatives (11 Jan. 2019)

India

• What story of man with Bombay blood group who needed an urgent transfusion can teach us (20 Jan. 2020)
• KGMU lodges police complaint against touts who forged head of transfusion medicine's signature on fake requisitions to procure donor blood to sell to patients (3 Jan. 2020) | KGMU
• State Government ordered to pay Rs 3 lakh to compensate husband of woman who died due to wrong blood transfusion (5 Jan. 2010) [Rs 3 lakh=~$4,172 USD)
• Transfusion Council asks all blood banks to display ‘free blood for patients’ information (20 Dec. 2019)
• Unnecessary blood transfusions can complicate dengue cases (15 Dec. 2019)
• More than half of those surveyed say they'd refuse organ donation from LGBTQ person (11 Nov. 2019) | Study also reveals that many Indians don’t donate organs because they’re worried they’ll be reborn without these vital parts in their next life
• Without medical officer hospital blood bank cannot collect blood from donors (24 Nov. 2019)
• It is high time unbanked direct blood transfusion been allowed (25 Oct. 2019)
• Use blood bags with NAT label only, advise experts (26 Sept. 2019)
• Transfusion-transmitted hepatitis: should you be concerned? (8 Aug. 2019) | India has high prevalence of HBV vs HIV, HCV.
• The hunt for platelet donors is happening on social media (29 July 2019)
• Over 1,000 dengue cases in Bangalore in 5 days (26 July 2019) | Some require transfusing platelets
• Five suspended for wrong blood group transfusion in Andhra Pradesh (30 June 2019)
  • Suspended were 2 physicians, 2 nurses, and a blood bank technician. Apparently after the death, blood group records and specimens were changed to cover up what happened.
• Jharkhand blood donors oppose donor card abolishment (27 June 2019) | Government directive:
  • “…the system of issuing donor cards for supply of blood without replacement to the blood donor or another person on behalf of the blood donor should not be practised by any blood bank.” Henceforth, donors would not get identity cards from blood banks.
• Blood transfusions infected 1,342 with HIV in 2018-19, says NACO (10 June 2019)
• Blood runs short due to climate conditions (4 June 2019) | Extreme heat (temperatures up to 46^oC) and humidity make storing donated blood complicated and few donors come forward.
• State of donor blood collection (25 May 2019)
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh releases 258 job vacancies (28 Apr. 2019) | Note age range qualifications
  • AIIMS Rishikesh
• Committee finds no lysed blood given in 15 maternity deaths and clears doctors and staff (25 Apr. 2019)
• Govt. asked to provide house, job to woman infected with HIV and neglected by husband (25 Mar. 2019)
  • ‘Prefer to live with parents’, Sattur woman informs HC (27 Mar. 2019)
• Inappropriately stored blood kills15 pregnant women in 4 months (26 Mar. 2019) Related:
  • TN govt ducks, denies, defends as reports of women dying post blood transfusion emerge (28 Mar. 2019)
  • Tamil Nadu health department issues dos & dont’s for blood banks (30 Mar. 2019)
• 3-yr-old transfused with wrong group (13 Mar. 2019)
• TN Health Min rules out blood transfusion as cause of 2-yr-old testing HIV+ (23 Feb. 2019)
• ‘HIV window period major issue in blood donation’ (19 Jan. 2019) | Because NAT testing unavailable
• Woman who got HIV after transfusion delivers girl (18 Jan. 2019)

Iran

• ‘High potential for local production of plasma-derived medicine’ (12 Jan. 2019)

Ireland

• Irish doctors successfully transfer blood transfusion unit from land to sea using drone (19 Dec. 2019)
• To promote IBTS two Transylvania emigrants volunteer to give blood at special Halloween event (22 Oct. 2019) | Great fun
• IBTS removes permanent deferral on vCJD associated with UK residency and certain surgical procedures (Effective 7 Oct. 2019)
  • News item (11 Sept. 2019)
  • Interview on lifting the deferral with Medical & Scientific Director, Dr Stephen Field (4:38 mins)
• Cork doctor completes nation's first pre-hospital blood transfusion to critically ill patient (29 Aug. 2019)
• IBTS stockpiles 6 month supply in case of no-deal Brexit (18 Aug. 2019)
• 'There's a perception that the treatment for hepatitis C is very bad - that’s gone now' (28 July 2019) | The new treatment costs €50,000, but the HSE has negotiated a deal so that it comes for free.
• Church of Ireland calls on Sec. of State for Northern Ireland to provide financial compensation to victims of infected blood (5 July 2019)
• Gay man challenges IBTS deferral policy on MSM donating blood in High Court (20 May 2019)
• Man infected with HCV from transfusion as child to be compensated more than €1.26 million (28 Mar. 2019)

Italy

• Prosecutor considers manslaughter after woman dies after transfusion mix-up with another person with same name (17 Sept. 2019)

Japan

• For first time ISBT recognizes Japanese scientists for discovering new blood group (16 Nov. 2019)
  • Omae Y, Ito S, Takeuchi M, Isa K, Ogasawara K, Kawabata K, et al. Integrative genome analysis identified the KANNO blood group antigen as prion protein. Transfusion. 2019 Jul; 59(7):2429-35. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Kenya

• Proposed Bill to commercialise blood transfusion continues to gain opposition (25 Dec. 2019)
• Address blood shortage to curb maternal deaths, KOGS tells State (6 Dec. 2019)
• Woman claiming hospital infected her with HIV via transfusion cries for justice (15 oct. 2019)
• Hospitals risk blood shortage for lack of bags (10 Oct. 2019)
• Patients with internal bleeding now have a chance of survival (24 Sept. 2019) | Hemafuse
• National Blood Transfusion Service and Human Organs Transplantation to adopt new organ transplantation law (2 July 2019)
• National Blood Transfusion Service asks public to report hospitals charging for blood transfusion, a practice that's unlawful (22 Apr. 2019)
• Students at the heart of plan to save blood banks (22 Feb. 2019)
• National blood service teeters on brink of moral receivership (9 Feb. 2019)
• Health services paralysed as nurses strike in 11 counties (5 Feb. 2019)

Luxembourg

• Complication in blood donations and transfusions on the rise (16 Jan. 2020)

Malta

• Hospital postpones non-urgent operations due to blood shortage (16 Jan. 2020)
• After acquiring NAT NBTS eases ban on blood donation for MSM (13 Sept. 2019)
• MOU between National Blood Transfusion Service and local councils signed to promote blood donations (15 Jan. 2019)

Morocco

• National campaign to collect blood in mosques a world first (3 June 2019)

Nepal

• Death of a child due to blood mismatch raises concerns over top heart centre’s safety protocols (6 May 2019)
• Social stigma adds to thalassaemia patients’ woes (27 Apr. 2019)
• Docs stress need for haemovigilance system (7 Mar. 2019)

Nigeria

• 80 Sickle Cell patients died due to blood shortage in Kano (9 Jan. 2020)
• Lawyer who became broadcast journalist wants to prevent Nigerians from bleeding to death (5 Dec. 2019)
• Private sector key to blood availability – experts (12 Mar. 2019)

North Korea

• Growing HIV Problem government doesn't want to acknowledge (26 June 2019)

Pakistan

• HIV outbreak caused by infected needles, contaminated blood transfusions: Study (20 Dec. 2019)
  • Mir F, et al. HIV infection predominantly affecting children in Sindh, Pakistan, 2019: a cross-sectional study of an outbreak. Lancet Infect Dis. Epub 19 Dec. 2019. (Register for free full text)
• HIV crisis among children (2 Nov. 2019)
• From the depths of despair shines a beacon of hope in Peshawar (10 Oct. 2019)
• The culture of blood donation (1 Sept. 2019)
• Lack of awareness, quacks to blame for HIV outbreak (15 May 2019)
• HIV is the new panic as 500 cases test positive in two weeks (17 May 2019)
• Speakers call for implementation of ban on reuse of syringes (7 May 2019)
• Baby dies after wrong blood transfusion in Karachi (28 Apr. 2019)
• Girl health deteriorates after wrong ABO group blood transfusion in Sindh (24 Apr. 2019)
• Heart institute first cardiac care hospital in country to implement nucleic acid test (NAT) at its blood bank (23 Mar. 2019)
• Blood shortages estimated at 40%/year, as blood donation rate is less than one per cent (10 Mar. 2019)
• Over 1,500 tested positive for hepatitis in Islamabad (12 Jan.2019)

Philippines

• Surge in dengue cases puts strain on Iloilo blood supply (9 July 2019)

Poland

• Medgadget checks out CoolSystems robot at Warsaw’s regional blood center (21 Oct. 2019)

Rwanda

• Drones introduced to deliver blood quickly to remote rural areas (16 Sept. 2019)
• Drones in health care: What is their impact on quality care and delivery? (5 July 2019)

Singapore

• Private hospitals now required to draw blood samples twice for pretransfusion tests (7 Jan. 2020)

South Africa

• Interview with SANBS CEO, Jonathan Louw (6 Dec. 2019)
• Two mothers successfully sue health department (2 Dec. 2019)

South Sudan

• Building blood supply means breaking down cultural and structural barriers (12 Mar. 2019)

Tanzania

• Improve blood bank strategies (editorial, 29 Oct. 2019)

Thailand

• Hospital admits cancer patient infected with HIV by blood transfusion was promised free treatment (10 May 2019)

UAE

• Blood donors deserve a big hearty salute (15 Dec. 2019)
• 70% of Hepatitis patients in UAE are undiagnosed (27 July 2019)

Uganda

• UBTS boss blames hospitals for failing to collect blood> (14 Jan. 2020)

UK

• Jump to Infected Blood Inquiry
• Jump to Hadiza Bawa-Garba case
• Five SHOT posters (2019 BBTS Annual Scientific Meeting)
• NHS urges more men in Hackney to give blood to tackle gender imbalance among new donors (16 Jan. 2020)
• Desperately ill kitten's life saved by xenotransfusion of dog’s blood (25 Nov. 2019)
• New technology helps makes blood transfusions at the RUH even safer (24 Sept. 2019) | BloodTrack Tx^®
• Vampire 'Blood Bikes" volunteers transport blood and save NHS thousands (29 Aug. 2019) | They also deliver mother's milk via ferry to Ireland
• Brexit - No-deal is a bad deal for UK science (9 Aug. 2019)
• 2018 Annual SHOT Report (9 July 2019) | 210 pp.
• Scotland: NHS Tayside forced to rush in new blood supplies after Ninewells power cut (5 July 2019)
• Ireland/Northern Ireland: Church of Ireland calls on Sec. of State for Northern Ireland to provide financial compensation to victims of infected blood (5 July 2019)
• Patient with SCD who nearly died from transfusion reaction supports call for more people of black heritage to donate blood (19 June 2019)
• Gay men breaking blood donor rule of no MSM for 3 months prior to donating (18 June 2019)
• Universities to face new research integrity watchdog in wake of UCL stem cell scandal (10 June 2019)
• Blood donations from men plummet as NHS says they are less motivated by altruism than women (10 June 2019)
• D-Day 75 years on - How Bristol was the blood donation epicentre for the UK war effort (6 June 2019)
• Rise in parents paying for private cord blood banking (16 May 2019)
• Coventry and Warwickshire snub volunteer blood bikers in favour of private company contract (11 Apr. 2019)
• NICE approves Daratumumab combination therapy for relapsed multiple myeloma (19 Mar. 2019)
• Mysterious outbreak of HTLV-I linked to self-flagellation religious ritual (14 Mar. 2019)
  • Tang AR, Taylor GP, Dhasmana D. Self-flagellation as possible route of Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type-1 transmission. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019 Apr; 25(4):811-13.
• Essex and Herts Air Ambulance to carrying blood on its helicopters and rapid response vehicles (14 Mar. 2019) | Blood to be warmed to body temperature using a donated MEQU warmer
  • Air Zermatt demo of MEQU Portable IV-Blood warmer (56 sec. video)
• Nurses given parking fines despite displaying permits as they took blood donations at Angel Centre in Tonbridge (7 Mar. 2019)
• Charity profited from dying HIV patients via punishing equity deals (2 Mar. 2019)
• Local charities bring life-saving transfusions to the roadside (23 Feb. 2019)
• We've got GPaemia and our system is on the attack (1 Feb. 2019)
• Brexit halt to blood donor sessions amid traffic fears reversed (29 Jan. 2019)
  • Background Brexit plan to halt blood donations overruled by DOH (29 Jan. 2019)
• Infected Blood Inquiry
  • Latest: Schedule of 2020 meetings
  • Update on expert groups (23 Dec. 2019)
  • Inquiry website
  • Terms of Reference
  • Witness videos (May 1, 2019 to present)
  • October 2019 Newsletter (4 Oct. 2019)
  • August 2019 Newsletter
  • Further nominees for expert groups put forward (28 Aug. 2019)
  • Closing remarks from Cardiff hearings by Sir Brian Langstaff (17:15 min. video)
  • Especially note this mark where Langstaffe discusses the themes that he's picked up from all the hearings to date.
  • Further dates announced for witness hearings (26 July 2019)
  • Inquiry Newsletter - June, Issue 4 (27 June 2019)
  • Transcripts and written witness statements (May 1, 2019 to present)
  • Letter from Health Minster to Chair of the Inquiry on increased compensation (13 May 2019)
  • Summary of responses to Inquiry’s consultation seeking views on terms of reference
  • Financial Report (Mar. 2019)
  • General Restriction Order (17 Apr. 2019) | Explains how and why information in witness statements will be redacted
  • Insight: How the hearings will work (1 Apr. 2019)
  • Guidance on how witnesses will be questioned (13 Mar. 2019)
  • Insight: The work of the Inquiry - legal team (7 Mar. 2019)
  • Tainted blood timeline | Excellent site with links to resources in UK, Canada, etc.
  • **NEWS ITEMS**
  • Contaminated blood inquiry to visit Norwich in February (16 Jan. 2020)
  • Minister urged to address Northern Ireland's payment disparity (15 Jan. 2020)
  • Inquest told of haematologist's 'regret' over misunderstanding after a mother bled to death (8 Jan. 2010)
  • Refusing Scottish help a 'grave error' in blood scandal, letter says (3 Jan. 2020)
  • Widow of Hartlepool man who died in infected blood scandal prepares to give evidence at inquiry (1 Jan. 2020) | She will give evidence twice at the inquiry in 2020, as both a widow and an award-winning researcher.
  • Welsh frustration at payments wait (26 Dec. 2019)
  • Ex-Royal Free patient Nicola Jones in fight for support decades after hep C infection (5 Dec. 2019)
  • Audio and video of media interviews and House of Commons speeches (courtesy of Campaign TB)
  • My husband caught AIDS from infected blood products and it must not happen again (17 Nov. 2019)
  • NI victims hit out at "very unfair" payments compared to other parts of the UK (14 Nov. 2019)
  • Inquiry chief 'won't hesitate to name names' and assign fault as first phase of hearings closes (6 Nov. 2019)
  • 'Harrowing' evidence of contaminated blood victims comes to close (3 Nov. 2019)
  • Sir Brian Langstaff: 'Many left in grinding hardship' (1 Nov. 2019)
  • Royal Free medics blamed infected blood victim's illness on 'homosexual lifestyle' (23 Oct. 2019)
  • St Neots man: “We have been overlooked, forgotten and let down - it’s as if we don’t exist.” (18 Oct. 2019)
  • Three men in same family infected with contaminated blood, the only survivor told inquiry: 'We were used as test subjects' (17 Oct. 2019)
  • Doctor tells infected blood inquiry 'we're not almighty Gods' (17 Oct. 2019)
  • Evidence from woman who lost two husbands (15 Oct. 2019)
  • Contaminated blood caused 'epidemic' of hepatitis in Bournemouth patients with haemophilia during 1970s (12 Oct. 2019) | New documents released under the FOIA focus on meeting of 50 directors of UK haemophilia centres an official from DOH, held in Oxford on 1 Nov. 1974.
    • Interview with Jason Evans who obtained the FOIA documents (3:34 mins)
  • NI mum angry that spouse's HCV could have passed to baby son (10 Oct. 2019)
  • New papers show senior medics allowed scandal to continue (7 Oct. 2019)
  • Top north London doctors knew blood products had transmitted hepatitis in 1974 (7 Oct. 2019)
  • Anger over key Dept of Health documents marked 'irrelevant' by government auditor (4 Sept. 2019)
  • Call for "automatic" testing for patients who may have received contaminated blood (14 Aug. 2019)
  • University Hospital of Wales removes bust of haemophilia expert linked to blood scandal (1 Aug. 2019)
  • Leeds law firm writes to Boris Johnson about NHS infected blood scandal (29 July 2019)
  • Birmingham boy infected with HIV at age five (29 July 2019)
  • 'I gave blood for six years without realising I had hepatitis C' (29 July 2019)
  • Cardiff campaigner branded 'thick' and family called a 'lot of moaners' by McFarlane Trust representative (26 July 2019)
  • Lawyer makes manslaughter claim against deceased haematologist NHS consultant (26 July 2019)
  • More witnesses prompt Inquiry extension (27 July 2019)
  • More inquiry news on BBC
  • Anger after boy, 7, died from AIDS & family called the 'AIDS family' (24 July 2019)
  • Paul Summers given same FVIII batch as AIDS patient (25 July 2019)
    • Related: Consultant hid HIV diagnosis from my son, father tells blood inquiry (25 July 2019)
  • Welsh Government urged to take lead (23 July 2019)
  • Hearing in Wales begin 23 July 2019 BBC Wales, 4:23 min. video)
  • At least 300 victims in Wales (22 July 2019)
  • Infected or affected, all the victims of our national blood scandal are owed closure (16 July 2019)
  • Twins with HIV 'treated like lab rats' (11 July 2019)
  • 'Mr. X' tells of hepatitis 'hell' (10 July 2019)
  • Woman given ‘death sentence’ from HIV-infected kidney transplant (9 July 2019)
  • Contaminated bloods' 'devastating' toll on Highlands family (9 July 2019)
  • 'Death sentence' Scots mum given contaminated blood after miscarriage (8 July 2019)
  • Medical records were destroyed, blood probe told (3 July 2019)
  • Scottish victims reveal 'coalition of secrecy' (2 July 2019)
  • 'Harrowing' evidence to be given as Inquiry sits in Scotland (23 June 2019)
  • Contaminated blood from high-risk prisoners in Scotland killed hundreds (23 June 2019)
  • Blood scandal victim's family accuse Hunt of breaking promises (21 June 2019)
  • Retired grandmother tells inquiry of Cyprus deportation threat after hepatitis C shock decades after blood test involving FVIII conc. (19 June 2019)
  • Man's 35-year nightmare after being infected with hepatitis C after skating accident (20 June 2019)
  • MP calls for immediate compensation for HIV and hepatitis victims of contaminated blood scandal (19 June 2019)
  • Retired NHS manager ‘made to feel like a leper’ after contracting Hepatitis C (18 June 2019)
  • Get them for what they’ve done – woman tells blood inquiry of son’s last words (14 June 2019)
  • 'My four brothers died' (11 June 2019)
  • Woman who contracted hepatitis C told by mother it would be better to kill herself than be treated (13 June 2019)
  • GP ‘did not have heart’ to tell man he was HCV-infected from contaminated blood transfusion (6 June 2019)
  • Hep C diagnosis 'brushed under the carpet' and support still unfair, scandal victim says (7 June 2019)
  • Dozens of schoolboys infected with HIV after secret blood trial, inquiry hears (5 June 2019)
  • Mother claims doctors tried to 'manipulate her' over son's hepatitis C (4 June 2019) | Gaslighting defined
  • Couple whose 10-year-old son died after contaminated blood say they hope inquiry will bring justice (26 May 2019)
  • Tainted blood victim’s son: My father was murdered and someone is to blame(24 May 2019)
  • Witness claims victims being used as 'political football' after Sec. of State letter on compensation (24 May 2019)
  • Couple whose 10-year-old son died after contaminated blood say they hope inquiry will bring justice (26 May 2019)
  • Richard Lowry 'wanted to die' (24 May 2019)
  • Tainted blood victim’s son: My father was murdered and someone is to blame (24 May 2019)
  • Witness claims victims being used as 'political football' after Sec. of State letter on compensation (24 May 2019)
  • Witness told extra money 'a matter for the assembly' of Northern Island (23 May 2019)
  • Government accused of creating hierarchy of contaminated blood victims by allowing varying payments across the UK (23 May 2019)
  • 'Four-year wait' to be told of hepatitis C infection (22 May 2019)
  • Former PM John Major 'must answer to inquiry' (22 May 2019)
  • Could some deaths have been prevented? (21 May 2019)
  • Belfast woman says life ruined by 1981 HCV-infected transfusion (20 May 2019)
  • I may get closure but I’ll never get justice, says NI victim (20 May 2019)
  • PM urged to pay 'tainted blood' victims compensation now (19 May 2019)
  • Welsh victims of contaminated blood scandal to receive £10,000 less than those in England (17 May 2019)
  • Blood scandal victim Colette Wintle slams UK government and 'unbelievable' new Royal Free Hospital letter sent to her physician (14 May 2019) | Her video testimony
  • County campaigner concerned over Government bid to 'overshadow' inquiry (12 May 2019)
  • Highgate mother slams 'long, long history of deceit' at hearings into blood scandal (11 May 2019)
  • Bristol woman who lost both parents within 8 days when she was 9, speaks at national inquiry (9 May 2019)
  • Teenager with haemophilia turned to life of crime after HIV diagnosis left him devastated (9 May 2019)
  • Haemophiliac boy's mother, who raised alarm about giving contaminated blood products to son, was labelled 'neurotic' (9 May 2019)
  • Paramedic contracted hepatitis C from transfusion after misdiagnosed of VWD (8 May 2019)
  • Parents whose young son with haemophilia was HIV-infected from blood products and died at 22 tell inquiry time will never heal their pain (8 May 2019)
  • Key files overlooked by Department of Health (7 May 2019)
  • Are we nothing more than experiments?' Norfolk grandmother to give evidence on infected blood today (7 May 2019)
  • UK opens inquiry into tainted-blood scandal from which at least 2,400 people died from contaminated blood in 1970s and '80s (1 May 2019)
  • Inquiry testimony raises questions about accuracy of medical authority assurances that blood was safe for hepatitis C after Sept. 1991 (1 May 2019)
  • North Devon woman who lost husband to contaminated blood scandal hopes inquiry will lift lid on country’s ‘biggest disaster’ (1 May 2019)
  • 'I'm the only one left': Haemophiliac tells blood inquiry how group of infected school friends vowed that whoever survived would find out what was killing them all (1 May 2019)
  • Contaminated blood scandal is the worst disaster in NHS history and the most grotesque (30 April 2019)
  • Public hearing fact sheet to provide information for those attending London hearings (30 April -10 May 2019)
  •  Lawyers line up for two-year inquiry into blood transfusion scandal (30 Apr. 2019)
  • Further members for expert groups put forward ahead of witness hearings (26 Apr. 2019)
  • Chair welcomes waiving of legal privilege by National Health Service Blood and Transplant (25 Apr. 2019)
  • First witness recalls being told he had year to live and not to tell family he had HIV (30 Apr. 2019)
  • Theresa May announces extra 29 million to support victims of infected blood scandal, ahead of public hearing (30 Apr. 2019)
  • Women who accidentally discovered they were given infected blood want new test on the NHS (30 Apr. 2019)
    
  • 'I want justice': contaminated blood victims speak out (29 Apr. 2019)
  • Haemophiliac Martin Beard contracted HIV from infected blood products by the NHS but was not told (28 Apr. 2019) | 3:39 min video
  • Lawyers for contaminated blood victims urge national HCV testing programme (19 Apr. 2019)
  • Military personnel forgotten In blood scandal inquiry urged to come forward (27 Mar. 2019)
  • Woman finds out she was infected by contaminated blood more than 40 years after heart operation (24 Mar. 2019)
  • How broken leg caused 26 years of 'hell' before woman died in 2008 from complications of HCV (19 Mar. 2019)
  • Interview with Emma Cave, Professor of Healthcare Law at Durham University, who will advise Inquiry on medical ethics (1 Mar. 2019)
  • FAQs about legal representation and law firms working with the Inquiry (1 Mar. 2019)
  • Inquiry confirms appointment of expert group members (21 Feb. 2019) | Direct link to Expert group members
• 11 times health bodies planned studies of spread of AIDS between wives and children of HIV-infected haemophiliacs (17 Feb. 2019) | Tidbit (navigation aid): After accessing page with 11 files (.pdfs), after you click on first one, you can easily navigate to next file (or back) using arrows ▶◀ at top left of screen
• Statement from Chair of Inquiry regarding NHS England and document retention (14 Feb. 2018)
• Hundreds of contaminated blood files ‘checked out by Government officials’ and went missing (11 Feb. 2019)
  • Interview with founder of the Factor 8 Campaign (11 Feb. 2019) | 6:30 min. BBC4 Radio
  • Interview with chair of Haemophilia Scotland(11 Feb. 2019) | 6:44 min. BBC Radio Scotland
• Locations and dates of public hearings revealed (Feb. 2019, Issue 2 newsletter)
• Contaminated blood victim calls for more support for those caught up in scandal (1 Feb. 2019)
• Inquiry outlines how it will notify witnesses or organisations to be criticised by other witnesses or by the Inquiry in its final report (31 Jan. 2019)
• Haemophilia Society is ordered by Infected Blood Inquiry Chairman to pass on crucial documents and files (30 Jan. 2019)
• Inquiry confirms dates/venues for public hearings and outlines how witnesses will be selected (24 Jan. 2019)
• Inquiry launches innovative way to collect evidence (10 Jan. 2019)
• Hadiza Bawa-Garba case
  • Full Bawa-Garba decision outlining conditions (9 Apr. 2019)
  • MPTS rules Dr Bawa-Garba can return to work under close supervision (9 Apr. 2019)
    • Bawa-Garba's lawyer (Tim Johnson/Law) on MPTS decision (2:18 min. video)
    • Background (Legal docs): Hadiza Bawa-Garba vs General Medical Council
    • Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service Hearing, 8-9 Apr. 2019:Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba Decision

USA

• FDA - Compliance Policy Guide CPG Sec. 230.150: Blood Donor Classification Statement, Paid or Volunteer Donor (Dec. 2019)
• FDA: Individuals who have ever tested positive for HIV should not donate blood (20 Dec. 2019)
• Velano Vascular reels in $25M for PIVO, its needle-free, blood draw system (17 Dec. 2019) | Velano website
• CDC proposes expanding HCV testing to all adults 18 and older (17 Dec. 2019)
• FDA: Considerations for the Development of Dried Plasma Products Intended for Transfusion - Guidance for Industry (Dec. 2019)
• FDA warns Liveyon over cord blood stem cell products (9 Dec. 2019)
  • FDA warning letter (5 Dec. 2019)
• ‘In this case, stability is not good’: HIV incidence at a standstill (3 Dec. 2019)
• Transcript of CDC telebriefing - Vital Signs HIV (3 Dec. 2019)
  • Harris NS, Johnson AS, Huang YA, et al. Vital Signs: Status of Human Immunodeficiency Virus testing, viral suppression, and HIV preexposure prophylaxis — United States, 2013–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:1117–13.
• New study funded by NIH to test effectiveness of tranexamic acid to stop bleeding in children (3 Dec. 2019)
• Joint letter from AABB, ABC, ARC to CMS to revise status indicator to enable immediate billing for newly approved blood products and technologies (2 Dec. 2019)
• ARC to offer $5 Amazon gift cards to entice donors over holiday season (3 Dec. 2019)
• FDA-CBER: Warning letter to Chara Biologics on its therapy claims (25 Nov. 2019) | Chara website
• FDA-CBER: Warning letter to RichSource Stem Cells on its therapy claims (20 Nov. 2019)
• Illinois wildlife clinic performs blood transfusion from owl to duck (11 Nov. 2019)
• Government (HHS) sues Gilead over patent for HIV PrEP (7 Nov. 2019)
• Florida woman needs rare Kp(b-) blood donations for life-saving surgery (27 Nov. 2019)
• Woman questions stem cell treatment after paying thousands without pain relief (25 Nov. 2019)
• In pricing our gene therapy, Bluebird weighed value, shared risk, and a lifetime cap | Oped by Bluebird's CEO (26 Nov. 2019)
• Big Pharma sinks to bottom of industry rankings (3 Sept. 2019)
• MD Anderson patients, staff in immediate jeopardy after recent federal inspection (5 Nov. 2019) | Background:
  • Report made public after federal investigation (26 June 2019) | Link includes 99 pp. report,
• Ambrosia, the young blood startup, is quietly back in business (8 Nov. 2019)
• Blood for money (29 Oct. 2019)
• Dangers of giving plasma: There are safer ways to make some cash (Oped in ND State University student paper, 21 Oct, 2019)
• FDA guidance to control for bacterial contamination in platelets (9 Oct. 2019)
• Pharmaceutical companies lure Mexicans across U.S. border to donate plasma (4 Oct. 2019)
  • Border clinics are the most productive, according to internal Grifols documents While most U.S. centers receive around 1,000 paid donations a week, centers at the border count more than 2,300.
• FDA warning about Stemell's use of umbilical cords (4 Sept. 2019)
• AABB: Interim Standard Focusing on Babesia for Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, 31 ed. (Comments accepted until 28 Sept. 2019)
• Ryan White State Historical Marker to be placed at his high school more than 30 years after he died of AIDS (30 Aug. 2019)
• Texas paramedics perform blood transfusions in the field with low titre O Rh+ whole blood (28 Aug. 2019) | 2:21 min. video
• UAB Hospital using whole blood in transfusions for severe trauma (22 Aug. 2019)
• Developer seeks tax breaks to convert old Aldi into paid plasma donation center (18 Aug. 2019)
• Founder of Ambrosia that charged $8K for young blood closes it and starts Ivy Plasma (14 Aug. 2019)
• FDA: Information About Immune Globulin (Human) Product Shortage (12 Aug. 2019)
• FDA puts Texas-based Stratus BioSystems on notice for HCT/P manufacturing violations (1 July 2019)
• Draft - Standards for a Patient Blood Management Program (Proposed 3rd ed.) | Significant changes to Proposed standard:
  • 1.4 concerning operational continuity
  • 5.1.3 expands the scope to include the management of anemia
  • 5.4.1 is new and relates to single-unit transfusion strategies
  • 5.11 expands the scope of the standards to include PBM for obstetric patients
  • To comment on the proposed standards Available for public comment 26 July 26 - 24 Sept. 2019.
• AABB: Grading Severity of Blood Donor Adverse Events Tool (6 June 2019)
  • Online Feedback Form
  • Deadline to provide feedback: 15 August 2019
• AABB: Center for Patient Safety, a component Patient Safety Organization (PSO) was discontinued April 30, 2019 | AABB Releases Patient Hemovigilance Supplemental Data Forms
• AABB, ABC, ARC: Joint letter to HHS Secretary Azar to continue funding two advisory committees, HHS's ACBTSA and FDA's BPAC (17 July 2019) | Background:
  • President Trump Executive Order 13875 of June 14, 2019: Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees
• Walking blood bank can save lives on the battlefield (22 July 2019)
• DOD seeks 'theater blood' tracking app (5 July 2019)
• MD Anderson patient death after getting contaminated blood triggers increased government oversight (25 June 2019) | Related:
  • Reports made public after federal investigation at MD Anderson (26 June 2019) | Includes 99-page CMS Report
• Stem cell clinics co-opt clinical-trials registry to market unproven therapies, critics say (11 June 2019)
• Facebook’s new blood donation tool aiming to draw in more donors (12 June 2019)
• Texas: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center working on corrective action following investigation into 'adverse event' (12 June 2019)
• FDA wins major legal victory in campaign against stem cell clinic marketing bogus and potentially hazardous stem cell products (4 June 2019)
  • FDA press release: Federal court issues decision holding US Stem Cell clinics and owner adulterated and misbranded stem cell products in violation of the law (4 June 2019)
• Coalition of blood centers tell Illinois State lawmakers blood donations are especially needed from minorities (7 June 2019)
• FDA: Recommendations for reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (May 2019)
• Plasma donors are vital to saving lives (19 May 2019) | Reply by President & CEO of the Immune Deficiency Foundation to this article:
  • Blood money (13 May 2019)
• Naval medical center provides whole blood units on homefront (16 May 2019)
• FDA releases 2017 Report on Fatalities Following Blood Collection and Transfusion | Report includes data from previous four fiscal years to allow comparisons
• Vitalant blood center allows donors to sign up for text alerts when their blood is sent to a hospital (2 May 2019)
• U.S. drugmakers partner with England’s NHS to combat HCV in deal worth $1.3B over 5 years (30 April 2019)
• Miami toddler with rare In(b-) blood type goes home after transfusions from 5 donors, 2 each from USA and UK and one from Australia (25 Apr. 2019)
• Who Bleeds American Blood? [Excerpt from Mitchell S. Jackson's Survival Math] (5 Mar. 2019) | My mom says giving blood [paid plasma at CSL] is the most patriotic thing she does. Less than a hundred years ago, she would have been banned from the blood bank.
• New N.Va. fire and rescue program delivers 'massive transfusion protocol' blood to trapped crash victims (29 Mar. 2019)
• Doctors perform world's first kidney donation between HIV+ patients, a medical breakthrough (28 Mar. 2019)
• More troops survived critical injuries as Iraq/Afghanistan wars went on, partially due to prehospital transfusions (28 Mar. 2019) Background:
  • Study: Blood transfusions aboard medevacs ‘critical’ to survival (27 Oct. 2017)
• I’m trying to reverse African-Americans’ distrust of medicine one blood donor at a time (27 Mar. 2019)
• Is blood supply as important as opioid crisis? Top federal health officials, blood banking leaders say yes (21 Mar. 2019)
• Nurse thought there must be a better way to help with son's blood transfusions, so invented Guard-A-Port (21 Mar. 2019)
• ARC's promotion of Game Of Thrones fans to donate runs into controversy over MSM donor regulations (13 Mar. 2019)
• CSL Plasma has a 'flat-out ban' on trans donors, so Minnesota sues (8 Mar. 2019)
• Fargo, ND: People need to donate blood regularly, especially during winter (9 Mar. 2019) | Story features interesting tidbits such as baby boomers donate more than millennials
• Everything you need to know about donating blood before you do it (27 Feb. 2019)
• Repeated mistakes led to fatal blood transfusion at St. Luke’s in Houston (26 Feb. 2019)
• Texas woman dies after receiving wrong ABO group red cells (27 Feb. 2019) | News item documents cascade of errors made
• Polar vortex exposed a major flaw in our volunteer blood supply system (28 Feb. 2019) | Op ed by Jonathan Thon, co-founder and CEO of Platelet BioGenesis, who notes platelets have shelf life of 2 days after donor screening for disease
• Couple forced off cruise ship in Mexico when woman might require transfusion (26 Feb. 2019)
• Ambrosia: Rise and fall of the startup that wants to slow aging by injecting 'young blood' (27 Feb. 2019)
• Young blood startup Ambrosia halts anti-aging treatments after FDA warning (20 Feb. 2019)
  • FDA: Statement cautioning consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions that are promoted as unproven treatment for varying conditions (19 Feb. 2019) | Did not name Ambrosia
• Black History Month: Charles Drew a pioneer in storing blood (11 Feb. 2019)
• Blood transfusions from younger people won't slow the aging process (3 Feb. 2019)
• What Is the blood of a poor person worth? (1 Feb. 2019)
• Controversial startup Ambrosia that charges $8,000 to transfuse young blood now claims to be operating in 5 U.S. cities (19 Jan. 2019)
  • Please don’t pay $8,000 for an infusion of young blood (17 Jan. 2019)
• Some help found, but more is needed for Florida girl with rare blood In(b-) phenotype (14 Jan. 2019)
• Baylor St. Luke's replaces president, two other executives following latest lapse of patient death after transfusion of wrong blood group (14 Jan. 2019)
• Screening all donated blood for Zika virus is not cost-effective in the United States (8 Jan. 2019)
  • Russell WA, Stramer SL, Busch MP, Custer B. Screening the blood supply for Zika virus in the 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2019 Jan 8. [Epub ahead of print]
• Worldwide drive to find blood match for 2-year-old comes to San Francisco (6 Jan. 2019) | Child has rare In (a+b-) phenotype.
  • 4th donor found to help girl with rare blood type; search continues (4 Jan. 2019)

Vietnam

• 'Core medical laboratory' (Bioch/Haematol/Transfusion) technologist weighing 50kg dedicated to donating blood (16 Nov. 2019)

Yemen

• Arab coalition confirms Sanaa blood bank was bombed by mistake (3 Oct. 2019)

Zimbabwe

• Blood transfusion price raised to RTGS $2160 (~$6 USD) (3 Dec. 2019)
• NBSZ justifies high cost of blood (14 Oct. 2019)