M.D.: Public Can Trust U.S. Blood Supply, Despite Red Cross's Mistakes
by Mary Rettig
September 19, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Colorado pathologist says people who give or receive blood with the American Red Cross should not be concerned by recent fines levied against the organization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recently, the FDA announced that it has fined the American Red Cross $4.2 million for failing to comply with blood safety laws. The fines are the result of a recently completed federal review of recalls conducted by the Red Cross between 2003 and 2005, which concluded these events were preventable.
The violations the FDA found included failure to ask some of the appropriate donor-screening questions and failure to follow certain test protocols. But, although the FDA findings may sound alarming, Dr. James Small of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) says the general public need not be concerned about the safety of the blood supply.
The safety laws imposed on U.S. blood suppliers are very complex, Small notes. They are, "like many federal laws, a very intricate mixture of regulations on what things need to be done to ensure the safety of the blood supply," he says.
In fact, the Christian physician contends, "There is so much redundancy and safety built into the rules that the chances of anything sneaking through all of those, even if you don't keep to every single one of the rules, are still pretty low."
And besides, Small adds, the FDA's penalty against the Red Cross is part of an ongoing matter dating back to 2003. The regulatory agency itself says patients in need of blood transfusions need not worry, thanks to the rigorous protections that are in place, he says. Experts state that the risks of receiving a blood transfusion are far less than the risk of failing to receive a transfusion when one is indicated.
According to one News-Medical.Net article, there is always some risk in receiving blood products; however, improvements in donor-screening procedures and the use of various new tests in recent years have made the national blood supply safer than it has been at any other time. Nevertheless, the FDA insists that Red Cross officials prioritize minimizing the potential for risk and maximizing the quality of the organization's management.
The laws are so full of checks and redundancies that, even with mistakes, the risk of any "bad blood" being given to a patient is extremely low, Small observes. Meanwhile, he notes, the FDA has acknowledged that the Red Cross's violations have not resulted in any serious health issues.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
