Artificial Blood Experiment Hits 27 U.S. Cities

abcnews.com/ ^ | July 07, 2006 | Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee

[cope85]

Artificial Blood Experiment Hits 27 U.S. Cities

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

In 27 cities across the United States, seriously injured accident victims could end up in a medical experiment, without their knowledge or consent.

The experiment involves an artificial blood called Polyheme.

The federal government has given the company that makes it approval to use badly bleeding accident victims as test subjects, without the subjects informed consent.

The only way out is to wear a blue bracelet provided by the company.

The company says it's the only way to test such a product.

But others, including Pastor Paul Burleson of a Denver church alliance, say it turns Americans into human guinea pigs.

"If I'm in accident and I just don't happen to have this particular wristband, that I'd be a guinea pig is unconscionable," he said.

Check to see if your city is among those participating in the Polyheme experiment

[cope85]

July 7, 2006 — Northfield Lab's experimental blood substitute Polyheme is currently in randomized phase III clinical trials recruiting patients without informed consent all over the country. At one point, it was being tested in as many as 27 cities; it is still being tested in 23 hospitals in 20 cities.

With the FDA's approval, Northfield Lab has recruited hospitals to participate in the trial study with exemption from informed consent requirements on study participants. Although Northfield Lab claims that extensive information on the study has been made public, a vast majority of the general public has never heard of the trial.

Below is a list of the cities and hospitals that are currently participating in the Polyheme trials. Check the list to see if you live an area where you could become a trial participant without your informed consent.

To opt out of the study, contact Northfield Labs (http://www.northfieldlabs.com/contact.html) or a participating hospital and request a blue bracelet. If worn, you will be exempt from the trial.

California

UC San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, Calif.; No longer recruiting Scripps Mercy, San Diego, Calif.; No longer recruiting

Colorado Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colo.

Delaware Christiana Hospital, Newark, Del.

Georgia Medical Center of Central Georgia, Macon, Ga.

Illinois Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill.

Indiana Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indianapolis, Ind. Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind.

Kansas University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan.

Kentucky University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Ky.

Michigan Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, Mich. Sinai Grace Hospital, Detroit, Mich.

Minnesota The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

New York Albany Medical Center, Albany, N.Y.; Suspended

North Carolina Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.

Ohio MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Suspended University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Ohio (Page 2 of 2)

Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Penn.; No longer recruiting St. Luke's Regional Resource Trauma Center, Bethlehem, Penn. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Penn.

Tennessee University of Tennessee-Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. Johnson City Medical Center, Johnson City, Tenn.; Suspended

Texas Memorial-Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas; No longer recruiting Memorial-Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas; No longer recruiting University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam, Houston, Texas

Utah University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah

Virginia Sentara Norfolk Hospital, Norfolk, Va.; No longer recruiting Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Va. Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Va.; Suspended

West Virginia West Virginia University/Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, Morgantown, West Va.

(source: www.clinicaltrials.gov where it says "Verified by Northfield Laboratories June 2006) (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00076648?

[GrandEagle]

Tagged for reference

[infidel29]

I saw the tv report on this, how about instead of giving the blood to everyone without a wristband, give it to those willing to consent by wearing a wristband.
Test the willing, not the uninformed.

[cope85]

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

[GrandEagle]

To be honest this seems bizarre to me. My wife is involved with clinical trials of drugs and informed consent is imperative. Our country is in worse shape than I thought.

GE

[wolfcreek]

They've already killed a few people doing these 'experiments". The FDA is going to have some lawsuits on their hands. (if it's possible to sue them)

[Junior]

I'd like to see the ERB that approved that one.

[GSlob]

Vampires hardest hit.

[Constantine XIII]

I for one want to get some more information before I go on a self-righteous jihad about this. Heaven knows that ABC News would NEVER slant the story in such a way as to make "Big Pharmaceuticals" look bad.

[OpusatFR]

This really ticks me off. I understand they want real life trauma conditions, but doing this without consent in my city is way beyond the board.

[Gingersnap]

You have just been pulled from your wrecked car. You have severe arterial bleeding. The EMTs apply pressure on your spurting wounds. Now you have a choice:

You can receive Polyheme at the scene. Polyheme has already been tested on humans and it appears to function well as whole blood in delivering oxygen; or

You can recieve saline solution at the scene and then wait for the hospital to type and match your blood in the ER. Saline solution will help your blood volume but it won't help your oxygen problems.

Which do you want?

Polyheme has already been determined to be safe for humans. The trial here is to determine if giving it at the scene can stabilize patients long enough to get to them to the ER before they bleed out. Who wouldn't want a shot at making to the ER?

They are not giving it to pregnant women, people who need CPR, or certain other types of patients.

[OpusatFR]

"Heaven knows that ABC News would NEVER slant the story in such a way as to make "Big Pharmaceuticals" look bad."

Not in this case. They gave it to unconscious trauma victims. We have lots of really bad drivers. I should know. I'm one of them. (Driver, not victim)

[Myrddin]

My organic chemistry instructor invented an artificial replacement for blood. He had a dog who had been living with completely artificial blood for 5 years. That was in 1975. I'm surprised it has taken 30 years to roll it out to humans.

[KarlInOhio]

I'm thinking of asking for one of those wristbands just to screw with them for their presumptuousness.

But then I'm the type of person who asks to be removed from class action suits just to cost lawyers time and money for the paperwork of removing me.

[RegulatorCountry]

"They are not giving it to pregnant women"

Not giving it to obviously pregnant women, who are aware of their condition, you mean. It's an inevitability that fetal exposure to this "Polyheme" will occur.

[Constantine XIII]

U. Cal. San Diego "Polyheme" Info Page: http://irb.ucsd.edu/notices/polyheme/

FAQ: http://irb.ucsd.edu/notices/polyheme/FAQs.htm

[Daytyn71]

From the University of California, San Diego,

FAQ's

http://irb.ucsd.edu/notices/polyheme/FAQs.htm

[Gingersnap]

Not giving it to obviously pregnant women, who are aware of their condition, you mean. It's an inevitability that fetal exposure to this "Polyheme" will occur.

That's true. But this will be given only in cases when survival to the ER is unlikely. Given a choice between almost certainly dying on the way to the ER and maybe having a bad reaction down the road, I'd take the fake blood.

[Constantine XIII]

Yeah, this isn't being touted as a cure-all, just something that can help people who are bleeding out to survive until they can reach the hospital and receive donated blood.

The more I read about this, the more I am certain that ABC is aiming to stir up a furor in order to boost ratings, regardless of whether or not they unnecessarily deep-six a useful drug, terrify people, and blacken some names.

Not that it suprizes me.

[kimber]

That's good!