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Committee Explores Use of Blood From Patients with Hemochromatosis[Medical Tribune: Family Physician Edition 39(13):12, 1998. © 1998 Jobson Healthcare Group]
CHICAGO--A scientific panel of the American Medical Association will try to determine a way to allow individuals with hemochromatosis to donate as many as 42 million pints of blood to the nation's blood-bank supply. Patients with hemochromatosis, an inherited disease that has been diagnosed in 1.3 million people, require regular therapeutic phlebotomies. At the AMA's annual meeting, delegates were asked to seek acceptance of the blood to relieve the chronically short supply. Current blood-bank policy prohibits blood drawn for therapeutic reasons; only blood donated voluntarily without financial incentives is deemed acceptable. Because people with hemochromatosis often are charged for having their blood drawn, said Melvyn Sterling, M.D., of Huntington Beach, Calif., chairman of the committee that heard testimony on the issue, there would be a financial inducement to donate blood, and that is why such donations run afoul of blood-bank policy. But because there is nothing intrinsically bad about the blood, Dr. Sterling said, "it would be very sad if we couldn't resolve this." Individuals with hemochromatosis are at risk of increasing body stores of iron that can damage virtually every organ, Dr. Sterling said. The delegates referred the resolution to the AMA Board of Trustees. Dr. Sterling said the board will likely refer the resolution to the AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs. A report could be before delegates as early as the AMA's interim meeting in Honolulu in December. --E.S. |
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