Sunday, January 30, 2011

New and Improved?

So, one of the things that have been on my mind since the report on Canada's blood system.
First of all, I think the report should show A+ in every category. This is our blood system we are talking about. There is absolutely no room for error. I think for the most part, people don't think about the importance of blood safety. But just because you aren't a Hemophiliac doesn't mean you won't need blood at some point in your life. Blood transfusions are used for patients who suffer from cancer, injury, major surgery, child birth or a car accident. So you see it's something that concerns everyone.
I was happy with most of the report except for the part about Plasma. The following is a section fo the press release from the Canadian Hemophilia Society.
"The provinces and territories continue to fund the suppliers of blood, blood products and their alternatives in such a way that they can provide life-saving products to Canadians in sufficient supply… with one exception. Solvent detergent treated plasma (SD-plasma) is still unavailable, despite licensure by Health Canada in 2006, a lower risk of blood-borne pathogens and adverse reactions compared to fresh frozen plasma, and the fact that SD-plasma is the standard of care in many European countries."
I have been using Fresh Frozen Plasma for about 27 years. Luckily I have had no problems with plasma in terms of blood born pathogens but I have had many allergic reactions to the plasma including, hives, difficulty breathing and seizures.
So if this SD plasma is better then of course I would like take it but it's a hard decision to make, it's not like trying out a new lipstick. This decision will have a huge impact on my life.
At the moment, I feel as though I do not have enough information to make a decision.
I've been reading a lot of articles and it seems like they are not 100% which one is better either. For example, in the case of the SD plasma so of it its powers (for lack of a better word) are lost.
The FDA has approved SD plasma, and some studies how that it is better, but as Hemophiliacs we have learned the hard way that you can't always believe what you read and what you are told is safe.

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