Heparin Recall Attorney

On Monday, February 11, 2008, on the heels of reports of 4 deaths and 350 adverse reactions caused by apparent allergic reactions to Heparin, Baxter International, one of the leading medical device and drug manufacturers in the world, announced that it would no longer sell multi-dose vials of Heparin. As of April 9, 2008, 62 deaths have been reported from what we now know to be heparin that was contaminated in China.

The problem began late last year when four children undergoing dialysis in Missouri exhibited severe allergic reactions just minutes after receiving Heparin.  Reports of adverse reactions to Heparin continued to mount, leading to last month’s recall by Baxter International of certain batches of Heparin.  As the reports continued to spread to include more and more Heparin lots not recalled, Baxter realized the recalled batches were not the problem and decided to stop selling Heparin.

The investigation discovered that a chemical close in nature to heparin—but not, in fact, heparin—was present in some of the ingredients supplied by a certain lab that made its way into the heparin injections. The chemical, considered a contaminant by the FDA, was discovered in significant amounts--up to 20% in some cases--in the recalled batches.

It is believed that this contaminant is the cause of the adverse reactions in many recipients of the tainted heparin, although no definitive link has been established.

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