Scandal of Blood Plasma Untested for HIV Broadens in Germany

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Scandal of Blood Plasma Untested for HIV Broadens in Germany

United Press International (10/31/93)

Berlin--Germany's HIV scandal grew Sunday as a second firm was charged with supplying blood plasma not screened for the AIDS virus, and as hospitals began reviewing records to identify patients who received untested blood. Pharm Dessau was charged with the knowing distribution of plasma which had not been tested for HIV. Last week, another supplier called UB Plasma was shut down on similar charges. Meanwhile, hospitals throughout the country are reviewing transfusion records from the past several years. One hospital in Torgau used 87 units of untested blood supplied by UB Plasma in just the past four or five weeks, according to the interior ministry of the state of Saxony, where the hospital is located. The Association of Hospitals in Lower Saxony cautioned that checking records would be an expensive undertaking. German political leaders, in the meantime, demanded tougher laws to regulate the blood plasma industry.

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