Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1983. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - November 2, 1983
Ronald Sullivan
Dr. Dennis Donohue, director of the division of blood products in the Office of Biologics, said the donor gave blood plasma at least 50 times in the last 11 months to a commercial blood center in Austin, Tex. The withdrawal involved about 64,000 doses.
Dr. Donohue, speaking at a Manhattan news conference organized by the American Association of Blood Banks, said the man had "lied" when asked by the center if he belonged to any of the high-risk groups that have been primarily identified with AIDS.
The fact that the man was a repeated donor was discovered when Jeri Moore, manager of the center, Austin Blood Components, said she heard news of the death of Christopher Whitfield at Brackenridge Hospital on Oct. 21. The hospital said he died of AIDS and had identified himself as a homosexual. Miss Moore recognized the victim as a well-known donor to her center. 2% of U.S. Supply
The center said it had sold its plasma to Cutter Laboraties Inc. of Emeryville, Calif. Bud Modersbach, a Cutter spokesman, said yesterday that the company had withdrawn 16 lots of blood clotting material that was traced to a large pool of plasma, which included plasma donated by Mr. Whitfield. He said the withdrawal, which represented from 2 to 3 percent of the nation's annual supply of the material, would not cause any shortage. Each lot contains 4,000 doses in small vials.
"We did this to assure the country's 15,000 to 20,000 hemophiliacs that we were taking every precaution even though there is no evidence that AIDS is transmitted this way," Mr. Modersbach said.
Hemophiliacs regularly require blood clotting factors derived from blood plasma to prevent uncontrolled bleeding. Commerical donors can give the material repeatedly because their red blood cells are returned to their body after the plasma is extracted.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, there have been 2,577 cases of AIDS, and 1,072 deaths thus far. Nearly half of the cases have been reported in New York City.
The disorder, which destroys the body's immune system, leaving victims prey to a variety of fatal illnesses, is mostly confined to homosexuals and intravenous drug users.
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