Flu pandemic affects U.S. blood supply
A number of blood centers have seen a drop in blood collections because of potential donors contracting the H1N1 flu virus and growing absenteeism in schools and offices due to the pandemic. Some centers also are receiving calls from donors who say they have flulike symptoms a day or two after donating, forcing the centers to discard the blood per FDA regulations. Blood centers are developing emergency plans with the government and hospitals to address blood allocation issues in case the pandemic worsens. A team of researchers also is planning to test blood samples from donors to find out if there's a possibility the H1N1 flu virus would show up in the blood.
Wall Street Journal, The
| 11/10
This story published in AABB SmartBrief on 11/16/2009
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