Contaminated haemophilia blood products were a serious public health problem in the late 1970s up to 1985.
These products caused large numbers of hemophiliacs to become infected with HIV and hepatitis C. The companies involved included Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, Institut Mérieux (which then became Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., and is now part of Sanofi), Bayer Corporation and its Cutter Biological division, Baxter International and its Hyland Pharmaceutical division.[1] Estimates range from 6,000 to 10,000 hemophiliacs in the United States becoming infected with HIV.[1][2]
Factor VIII is a protein that helps the clotting of blood, which hemophiliacs, due to the genetic nature of their condition, are unable to produce themselves. By injecting themselves with it, hemophiliacs can stop bleeding or prevent bleeding from starting; some use it as often as three times a week.[3]
Further reading[edit]
- Kieran Healy. 1999. “The emergence of HIV in the U.S. blood supply: organizations, obligations and the management of uncertainty.” Theory and Society, 28:529–558.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products
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