Don't know if this has been posted anywhere here yet, but here goes:
Chronic Fatigue Sufferers May Be Asked to Avoid Donating Blood http://www.microbeworld.org/index.p...y&view=article&id=3925&tmpl=component&print=1
submitted by Garth Hogan on June 14, 2010
Tags: blood, chronic, donation, fatigue, infection, virus, XMRV
Source: blogs.wsj.com
There’s been a flurry of activity by experts trying to suss out if the virus XMRV, which has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, poses a threat to the U.S. blood supply.
On Friday, Louis Katz, executive vice-president of medical affairs at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, Iowa, and a member of the AABB task force studying the issue, gave his own latest assessment of the situation: People who have been diagnosed by a doctor with CFS should not donate blood, at least not at this point. (The AABB is an association that includes the facilities that collect virtually all of the U.S. blood supply.)
Last October, a paper in the journal Science linked XMRV — first discovered in 2006 — to CFS, which affects an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Since then, public health officials have been racing to learn more. Although it still isn’t yet known whether XMRV causes CFS or any other disease, there are concerns that the virus might be transmitted through blood donations.
Friday’s teleconference was held by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Katz said — emphasizing that the AABB task force’s recommendations aren’t out yet and he was speaking for himself — that the latest draft versions recommend to AABB members that potential donors who currently have or have had CFS be advised they should not give blood.
WSJ's blog on health and the business of health. "
WSJ Blogs AABB task force’s
June 14, 2010, 2:32 PM ET
Chronic Fatigue Sufferers May Be Asked to Avoid Donating Blood
There’s been a flurry of activity by experts trying to suss out if the virus XMRV, which has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, poses a threat to the U.S. blood supply.
On Friday, Louis Katz, executive vice-president of medical affairs at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, Iowa, and a member of the AABB task force studying the issue, gave his own latest assessment of the situation: People who have been diagnosed by a doctor with CFS should not donate blood, at least not at this point. (The AABB is an association that includes the facilities that collect virtually all of the U.S. blood supply.)
Last October, a paper in the journal Science linked XMRV — first discovered in 2006 — to CFS, which affects an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Since then, public health officials have been racing to learn more. Although it still isn’t yet known whether XMRV causes CFS or any other disease, there are concerns that the virus might be transmitted through blood donations.
Friday’s teleconference was held by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Katz said — emphasizing that the AABB task force’s recommendations aren’t out yet and he was speaking for himself — that the latest draft versions recommend to AABB members that potential donors who currently have or have had CFS be advised they should not give blood.
Jennifer Garfinkel, a spokesperson for AABB, says that facilities that collect blood must follow FDA blood donation guidelines, which currently do not restrict people with CFS from giving blood. The AABB recognizes that it will take time for the FDA to make a decision since the science about XMRV is still being worked out, she says. In the meantime, AABB will advise that member organizations start building awareness among donors and ask those with CFS not to donate, she says.
Since the study in Science was published, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have barred people with CFS from donating blood.
Katz says that in materials his center is preparing to distribute, potential donors’ contact information will be requested so that if future studies indicate XMRV is not transmitted through the blood or is deemed not to be harmful, the center can get in touch with them. “I don’t want to lose blood donors I don’t need to lose,’’ Katz says. “If XMRV turns out not to be important, we want to get them back.’’
Chronic Fatigue Sufferers May Be Asked to Avoid Donating Blood http://www.microbeworld.org/index.p...y&view=article&id=3925&tmpl=component&print=1
submitted by Garth Hogan on June 14, 2010
Tags: blood, chronic, donation, fatigue, infection, virus, XMRV
Source: blogs.wsj.com
There’s been a flurry of activity by experts trying to suss out if the virus XMRV, which has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, poses a threat to the U.S. blood supply.
On Friday, Louis Katz, executive vice-president of medical affairs at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, Iowa, and a member of the AABB task force studying the issue, gave his own latest assessment of the situation: People who have been diagnosed by a doctor with CFS should not donate blood, at least not at this point. (The AABB is an association that includes the facilities that collect virtually all of the U.S. blood supply.)
Last October, a paper in the journal Science linked XMRV — first discovered in 2006 — to CFS, which affects an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Since then, public health officials have been racing to learn more. Although it still isn’t yet known whether XMRV causes CFS or any other disease, there are concerns that the virus might be transmitted through blood donations.
Friday’s teleconference was held by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Katz said — emphasizing that the AABB task force’s recommendations aren’t out yet and he was speaking for himself — that the latest draft versions recommend to AABB members that potential donors who currently have or have had CFS be advised they should not give blood.
WSJ's blog on health and the business of health. "
WSJ Blogs AABB task force’s
June 14, 2010, 2:32 PM ET
Chronic Fatigue Sufferers May Be Asked to Avoid Donating Blood
There’s been a flurry of activity by experts trying to suss out if the virus XMRV, which has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, poses a threat to the U.S. blood supply.
On Friday, Louis Katz, executive vice-president of medical affairs at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, Iowa, and a member of the AABB task force studying the issue, gave his own latest assessment of the situation: People who have been diagnosed by a doctor with CFS should not donate blood, at least not at this point. (The AABB is an association that includes the facilities that collect virtually all of the U.S. blood supply.)
Last October, a paper in the journal Science linked XMRV — first discovered in 2006 — to CFS, which affects an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Since then, public health officials have been racing to learn more. Although it still isn’t yet known whether XMRV causes CFS or any other disease, there are concerns that the virus might be transmitted through blood donations.
Friday’s teleconference was held by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Katz said — emphasizing that the AABB task force’s recommendations aren’t out yet and he was speaking for himself — that the latest draft versions recommend to AABB members that potential donors who currently have or have had CFS be advised they should not give blood.
Jennifer Garfinkel, a spokesperson for AABB, says that facilities that collect blood must follow FDA blood donation guidelines, which currently do not restrict people with CFS from giving blood. The AABB recognizes that it will take time for the FDA to make a decision since the science about XMRV is still being worked out, she says. In the meantime, AABB will advise that member organizations start building awareness among donors and ask those with CFS not to donate, she says.
Since the study in Science was published, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have barred people with CFS from donating blood.
Katz says that in materials his center is preparing to distribute, potential donors’ contact information will be requested so that if future studies indicate XMRV is not transmitted through the blood or is deemed not to be harmful, the center can get in touch with them. “I don’t want to lose blood donors I don’t need to lose,’’ Katz says. “If XMRV turns out not to be important, we want to get them back.’’
