vWD Information Slideshow

Here is a link to a slideshow presentation on vWD from Douglas Montgomery MD  in July 2008.  It’s an older presentation but the information is still quite relevant.

vonWillebrands Disease Slideshow

The presentation covers:

• How vWF promotes cloting
• vWF role in the clotting cascade
• Common vWF Mutations
• Three classes of vWD and subtypes
• Pathophysiology and clinical presentation
• Some lab tests for vWF and what the tests meassure
• Variables that influence treatment
• 6 medical treatments
• Details of dDAVP
• Summary OB management

Renowned hematologist Dr. Edward Shanbrom dies

The Associated Press

Posted:   03/04/2012

TUSTIN, Calif.—Dr. Edward Shanbrom, a pioneering hematologist who invented a widely used process for removing viruses from blood plasma and helped develop a breakthrough treatment for hemophilia, has died in Southern California.

Shanbrom died of natural causes Feb. 20 at his home in Tustin, according to a statement from his family. He was 87.

While on the executive staff at Baxter Laboratories in the 1960s the Connecticut native helped come up with a method, still in use today, to produce large quantities of a blood clotting factor that is absent in hemophiliacs. This breakthrough therapy made it possible for those suffering from hemophilia to lead more normal lives.

“Hemophilia patients and blood product recipients worldwide have benefited from Dr. Shanbrom’s work,” Samuel D. Anderson, his colleague and a former biotechnology executive, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

In the 1980s, while conducting research at his home, Shanbrom developed a blood purification technique that uses mild detergents to scrub viruses, bacteria and other contaminants out of plasma.

Shanbrom held 49 U.S. patents and 91 international patents in areas ranging from nutraceuticals to antiseptics to blood products, his family said. In 1988 the New York Blood Center bought his patented processes for scrubbing viruses from transfusion blood.

He practiced hematology and oncology at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Orange County General Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.

Shanbrom was also a clinical instructor at the University of California, Los Angeles and at UC Irvine. In 2007 the Edward Shanbrom, M.D. Hall was dedicated on the UC Irvine campus in recognition of his pioneering hematology research and support of the university. The building is also home to the Edward Shanbrom, M.D. Laboratory for the Study of Blood and Natural Products.

For more inforamation on Edward Shanbrom , M.D. click here.

Factor 8 Movie

Film Synopsis:

For more than two decades, the Arkansas prison system profited from selling blood plasma from inmates infected with viral hepatitis and AIDS.

Thousands of unwitting victims who received transfusions of a product called Factor 8 made from this blood died as a result.

Follow along as filmmaker Kelly Duda uncovers the tragedy that many consider a crime. Through exclusive interviews and key documents as well as never-before-seen footage, he builds a formidable case that cries out to be heard. See in-depth interviews with a wide variety of players including: victims in Canada who contracted the diseases, state prison officials, former employees, high-ranking Arkansas politicians, and inmate donors, all of which paint a horrifying portrait of what happened.

Why did the state of Arkansas and its prison system risk selling inmates’ blood for so long and how was it able to continue?

Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal is an unsettling look at the complex issues surrounding prison corruption, blood safety and government oversight. This feature length documentary takes the viewer into the underbelly of the good ole boy South, and, like a Grisham novel, delivers disturbing subplots, amazing coincidences and a possible conspiracy.

At the heart of the documentary is one reporter’s dogged search for the truth. He discovers that his home state knew it was dealing a dangerous product, yet put profits over public safety while federal regulators looked the other way. Charges of cronyism and cover-up reach all the way to the administration of then-Gov. Bill Clinton. And, years before he would assume higher office, the question of “what did he know and when did he know it” comes into play.

Add death threats, burglary, and a murder to the story and a suspected campaign of fear and intimidation surfaces lending explanation to how this story was kept quiet for so long.

Even now, families are still grieving. People are still dying. Around the world major classaction lawsuits have been filed and criminal investigations are underway. While the rest of the globe looks to America for answers, the story remains largely untold and no one has ever been held accountable.

Factor 8 is one citizen’s attempt to set that right.

For more information look here.

Conflicts in medical management of hemophilia

entire Article can be found here: Conflicts in medical management of hemophilia.

 By Everett Winslow Lovrien, M. D  (Author of “Doctor Guilt?“)
WordPress blog

Hemophilia is a medical disorder that is part of our genetic load as humans. It will never disappear. Therefore, the only way to live with it is to receive adequate medical management. Its effects on those males who have inherited the disorder that affects their blood clotting without treatment includes recurrent hemorrhages (bleeds) into joints as well as internal bleeding. The bleeds are painful, resulting in disuse, disability and crippling. The first signs usually appear in early childhood. A child who suffers a mouth bleed can slowly lose enough blood to result in death.

Prior to 1960, the expected life of a child born with severe hemophilia in the USA was less than 11 years. A common cause of death in childhood was bleeding into the brain, an intracerebral hemorrhage. This agonizing threat could be overcome with the discovery of Cryoprecipitate in 1964 by Dr. Judith Pool at Stanford University. The missing precursor to deficient clotting factor, antihemophilia factor VIII (AHF VIII) was obtained from the blood plasma of normal donors. A further step led to the production of AHF in the form of a lyophilized powder (Concentrates) that could be re-constituted and infused at home to treat bleeding. The introduction of concentrates was a marvelous innovative form of treatment that considerably improved the lives of those born with hemophilia by eliminating agonizing suffering.

Constraint in hemophilia treatment by HIV and hepatitis viruses

Despite the great success of Concentrate therapy for replacement of missing AHF in persons who have hemophilia, two conflicts have clouded the brightness of its use. The first major hazard of replacement therapy was the discovery that the magic medicine was contaminated with hepatitis viruses and HIV, the virus that cause AIDS. The drug companies that manufactured AHF Concentrates derived from plasma sacrificed safety bypassing purification in their drive for profitability. Thousands of boys and men who had hemophilia died all over the world from liver failure and AIDS as a result of the polluted medicine they infused to treat their bleeding episodes. More than 10,000 persons with hemophilia became HIV infected in the USA, which could have been prevented.

High costs limit availability of hemophilia treatment

The second conflict in AHF replacement is the cost of the medicine. AHF infusions to treat or prevent bleeds in hemophilia are not infused just once; instead infusions are required every few days in childhood. A person with severe hemophilia often exceeds 1,000 infusions by adulthood. The cost of treatment depends on the amount of AHF infused. A child requires less than an adult. A single treatment costs $1,000 to $2,000 for an adult. In the USA, estimates reveal that 12,000 persons with severe Type A hemophilia infuse an average of 171,760 units of AHF each year totaling 2,060,000,000 AHF units, including surgery. The average maintenance per person without surgery is less. However, recent recommendations for the prevention of bleeding in hemophilia include scheduled prophylactic infusions of Factor VIII, three times each week. A person who receives 150 infusions each year at 750 units per infusion will receive 112,500 AHF units; if the amount is 1,000 units three times each week, the yearly infusions total 150,000 units. The pharmaceutical manufacturing of AHF concentrates, as plasma derivatives and by genetic recombinant methods, world-wide is a multi-billion dollar industry. Production of AHF in 1995 equaled $2.4 billion, and amounted to $6 billion by 2011. AHF concentrates are sold primarily in countries with high incomes (RE: J.S. Stonebraker et al, Hemophilia (2010), 16, 33-46).

Hemophilia appears in males from all of the world’s races. With a world population of 7,000,000,000 (CIA, 2010) and an average birth rate of 20 per thousand individuals, there are 140,000,000 births each year in the world. One half are males, (70,000,000). One in 5,000 newborn males has hemophilia, equaling 14,000 new cases of hemophilia that are born in the world each year.

Within the U.S., with a population of 310,000,000, a birth rate of 14 per thousand equates to 4,340,000 births each year. In the U.S. 2,170,000 males are born annually. Experience has revealed that one in 5,000 will have hemophilia, equaling 434 new cases of hemophilia in the USA each year. Approximately 20,000 persons living in the USA have hemophilia ( RE: J.S. Stonebraker et al Hemophilia (2010), 16, 20-32). Of these, 12,000 are males who have severe type A hemophilia requiring Factor VIII replacement infusions.

Thanks to the federal government’s establishment of Hemophilia Treatment Centers, whose goal is to identify all of the persons who have hemophilia within the center’s health region, most cases of hemophilia in the USA, as well as in other high income countries are identified. Recognition is a necessary step that leads to treatment and relief from suffering.

But, that’s not the case in the major parts of the world. It is estimated that one–half, or even three-fourths of the children born in the world who suffer from hemophilia receive inadequate or no treatment (World Federation of Hemophilia, WFH). Often, they are not identified. The lack of treatment in economically poor counties of the world is the result of the high cost of the replacement AHF medicine, made in America without cost controls, that is not affordable in many countries.

Information provided by Mr. Patrick Robert of Marketing Research Bureau, Orange, Connecticut, for 2009 revealed the following:

Factor VIII sales in the USA (2009)
Plasma derived AHF Factor VIII	360,000,000 units
Recombinant AHF Factor VIII	1,700,000,000 units
	Total 2,060,000,000 units

 

Factor VIII worldwide sales (2008)
Plasma derived AHF Factor VIII	2,900,000,000 units
Recombinant AHF Factor VIII	4,000,000,000 units
	Total 6,900,000,000 units

 

Price of Factor VIII
Recombinant Factor VIII	$.90 -$.99 / unit
Plasma derived AHF Factor VIII	$.60/ unit within the USA
	$.50/ unit outside the USA

The USA includes only 4.7% of the world’s population but it uses 30% of the Factor VIII concentrates produced in the world. 12,000 males (Type A hemophilia) using 2.06 billion units of AHF annually average 171,670 units for each person. This amount of AHF appears to be excessive but considering the large amounts of AHF utilized during surgery, prophylactic infusion therapy three times each week, and induction of immune tolerance to overcome inhibitors the amount may be even higher. Mr. Mark Skinner, president of WFH, believes the utilization of AHF will increase as children in the USA, who have been maintained on prophylaxis become adults. An adult male weighing 175 lbs who infuses 2,000 units of Factor VIII prophylactically three times each week uses 312,000 units each year, at a cost of $187,200 to $308,880 depending on whether recombinant or plasma-derived Factor VIII is infused.

Donations of AHF from pharmaceutical manufacturers to underserved person have been welcome. Pfizer has provided 10 million units of its ReFacto AHF to persons suffering from hemophilia in underserved countries, valued at $13 million (Medical.net/news 2010-02-03). Medical insurance providers may question the high prices of AHF Factor VIII they pay to pharmaceutical manufacturers for the benefits of their subscribers while they give away medicine to others without a cost. There remains a dilemma – a marvelous treatment exists but it is not affordable for most persons in the world. AHF treatment is available for persons who live in rich countries—so, a societal issue arises. If medicine exists to provide treatment, relieve pain and suffering, prevent disability and prolong life expectancy, is it a basic human right that the medicine should be available to everyone who needs it?

WFH and the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) continue their advocacy for all persons born with hemophilia. The Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTC) in the USA have improved the management of hemophilia resulting in an improved quality of life and increased life expectancy within the USA. Other countries that have a high average income have also experienced the improvement of hemophilia care as the result of the pharmaceutical manufacturers’ entrepreneurship. The innovative production of AHF for the treatment of hemophilia as a safe plasma derivative and by genetic recombinant methods by industry has been remarkable. The challenge ahead for treating hemophilia has shifted from production of medicine to distribution.

Book – “Survivor: One Man’s Battle with HIV, Hemophilia, and Hepatitis c”

The life of someone fighting a serious disease is never easy. Vaughn Ripley is no different. He made a choice on how to deal with it and his book tells of his struggles and victories.

Movie – BAD BLOOD

Blood, Sweat and Tears

by Shawn Decker From POZ.com

POZ speaks with Marilyn Ness, Emmy Award-winning producer, about Bad Blood, a documentary that chronicles how the hemophilia community fought to protect the blood supply from HIV.

What inspired you to make a documentary about this often forgotten chapter in HIV/AIDS history?
I grew up with Mathew Kleiner [an HIV-positive advocate who died in 2003 of Hepatitis and complications due to HIV] in Brooklyn. I knew he had hemophilia, but other than [when we discussed] how rough we could get on the monkey bars, it didn’t really come up much. 

Coincidentally, my sister wound up in college with him at Cornell University [in New York state]. They became friends, so we all reconnected. In his junior year at Cornell, he decided to come out publicly [about the fact] that he had HIV and told his story of contracting HIV from Factor VIII, a blood-based medication that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Is that when you first learned that many people with hemophilia had contracted HIV through blood products?
I knew AIDS affected the “four Hs”: homosexuals, Haitians, hemophiliacs and heroin addicts. Like most people, I never stopped to consider how hemophiliacs got it. I knew it had something to do with blood, but I guess I thought they got it from a blood transfusion.

What startled me is that many hemophiliacs got it from Factor VIII. In order to make Factor VIII, blood went through rounds and rounds of treatment and processing that ultimately turned it into white powder. In the process, HIV-tainted blood was used. There was opportunity at each stage of production to address the viral contamination. But no one did, because no one knew what had happened.

Before HIV/AIDS, the hemophilia community went through a similar situation in which people were exposed accidentally to hepatitis B. Were the lax response to that incident and the resulting infections warning signs of things to come?
Yes, neither the pharmaceutical companies nor the FDA nor the doctors nor the patient advocacy groups insisted the product be cleaned of viruses. It’s actually such an unbelievable notion in many ways. [And they certainly didn’t advertise what happened.] I’m not surprised people don’t understand how hemophiliacs contracted HIV.

What do you hope people will take away from watching Bad Blood?
Once the hemophilia community began to [contract HIV], experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] realized pretty quickly it meant the virus was in the blood supply.

Had the CDC warnings been heeded, then steps could have—and should have—been taken to change the blood collection process in the United States. It is widely accepted that, had those changes been made, a good number of the 12,000 people who contracted HIV through blood transfusions [in addition to the 10,000 hemophiliacs] during that era might have been saved.

My hope is that this film, by raising awareness of what happened, will help keep the blood supply safe.

One of my favorite parts of the film shows how the hemophilia community became politically active regarding blood safety. It’s similar to how the gay community were leaders in advocating for condom use.  Blood safety gained national attention again in 2010 over discussions regarding the ban on blood donations by homosexuals. It was issued more than 20 years ago as an initial response to the AIDS crisis. But arguably it may be time to remove it. Do you believe the ban should be lifted?
In 1980, the gay community donated 5 percent of the nation’s blood. It was a true act of altruism and civic responsibility, considering less than 5 percent of all eligible donors donate today. So I understand fully the frustration of the gay community in being prohibited from donating blood in the United States.

On the flip side, I know the hemophilia community well and know they will bear 100 percent of the risk if another infectious agent makes its way into the U.S. blood supply.

I am hugely gratified that Gay Men’s Health Crisis [GMHC] saw Bad Blood and reached out to the bleeding groups to work together on coming up with a thoughtful process to reconsider the gay donor blood ban.

GMHC wants to use Bad Blood to educate its community on why patience is needed as scientists, public health officials and advocates like GMHC and the bleeding groups work together to make safe and fair blood donor policies in the United States.

Both the hemophilia and gay communities have lost so many people to this epidemic, it’s understandable that passions run so deep on both sides regarding gay donors.
In every way, what happened in the hemophilia community was an early warning sign about the safety of the U.S. blood supply.

And though many people with hemophilia no longer use blood-based therapies [they use genetically engineered products], that community still considers itself the guardians of the nation’s blood supply, [hoping to ensure] a tragedy like the one chronicled in Bad Blood will never again happen on their watch.

Personally, I feel we owe them a debt of gratitude for that.

Go to badblooddocumentary.com for more information.

Book Review: Dying in Vein

Name:  Dying in Vein: Blood, Deception … Justice

Description:

Photographer Kathy Seward MacKay and writer Stacy Milbouer bring to light one of the worst preventable medical disasters in United States history – the spread of the AIDS and hepatitis
viruses through the nation’s blood supply and its devastating effects on the world’s population of hemophiliacs and their families. Approximately 100,000 hemophiliacs were infected with the viruses.

The documentation of this tragedy is provided in a 1995 independent study by the Institute of Medicine – part of the National Academy of Sciences. In the report, medical experts estimated that up to 70 percent of the HIV infections in hemophiliacs may have been prevented had the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies acted when the warnings signs were evident in the early 1980s.

A timeline in “Dying in Vein” gives an overview of the blood supply problems, beginning with the first known outbreak of hepatitis in the 1940s. It is easy to see that decades later the deaths of thousands of people with bleeding disorders were largely a result of corporate greed by four pharmaceutical companies and FDA regulatory failure.

Mission Statement:

After the death of my 33-year-old husband, a hemophiliac infected by tainted blood products, I wanted to use my skills as a photographer to show the pain and suffering of the victims and the families of the blood-supply crisis within the hemophilia community. I wanted to tell the story with candid, real-life moments. It was also important for me to capture the fervent activism in this community, the everyday life of infected hemophiliacs and the strength of the human spirit. I wanted the people responsible for this travesty to see the toll their actions and decisions had on the lives of their victims. And I wanted to inspire those who saw these photographs to think, feel, maybe even act in response to it.

For my husband, David, living with the cloud of HIV over his head, was not an easy task, yet he lived a full life. As a special education teacher, he touched many lives and sent his students on the path to productivity, rather than ruin. The ripple effects of his contributions are still seen today. Yet, he died too young and his two sons have suffered from the absence of a father since the ages of 4 and 8.

While David was alive, he often suggested that I document the plight of an HIV-positive hemophiliac. He knew there was a whole generation of people with bleeding disorders who faced extinction. For me however, this was a topic I just did not want to cover – it was too close to home. I didn’t want to draw attention to the issue. I wanted to try to live a “normal” life. We believed he would remain one of the long-term survivors of HIV. Then, after he very suddenly died of liver failure from hepatitis C in 1997, I was thrown into the world of hemophilia, injustice and activism. I quickly learned that this horrific tragedy could have been prevented if it weren’t for corporate greed and the immoral decisions within our federal Public Health Service.

As a photographer, I could no longer ignore such an important story. I felt obligated to do my part for the cause. My main goal was to educate the public and to do my small part in preventing another tragedy of this nature. I soon realized how important it was to provide a voice to those who felt the government and the press ignored their stories.

“Dying in Vein” is for those victims of the blood supply crisis: Those who have perished. Those who are suffering. And those who have survived the death of their loved ones.

Dying in Vein is also for all healthcare consumers: Those who rely on drug companies to make the right decisions for us. Those who rely on the FDA to make the right decisions for us. And those who rely on doctors to make the right decisions for us.

Link to FaceBook page, here.

New Book – Hemophila History

Doctor Guilt?
by Everett Winslow Lovrien

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Brent admired the chimpanzee he sketched at the zoo. He regarded the animal as contemplative. He was unaware that similar animals in the wilds of Africa were the source of a virus that would lead to his death from AIDS. Brent became infected with HIV from the medicine he infused to treat his hemophilia. At six months of age, his parents were alarmed when they discovered bruises on his chest which led to the discovery of hemophilia. From that moment forward, he received frequent intravenous infusions of concentrate to treat recurrent bleeding episodes. Infusions of the medicine relieved pain and suffering from bleeding. His life seemed normal. Unexpectedly, Brent’s life changed after the discovery of HIV contamination of the medicine. The medicine was manufactured from the plasma of paid blood donors. Unbeknownst to Brent, the plasma was polluted with HIV. The SIV in chimpanzees changed to become HIV in humans. But the chimpanzees were not the cause of the transfer of SIV in animals to HIV in humans. The change from SIV in animals to HIV in humans was the result of human activity. The change came about with the production of the hepatitis B vaccine. Who was responsible for the pollution of the hemophilia medicine with HIV and hepatitis viruses? Was Brent’s death preventable?

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse.com (August 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1450216846
• ISBN-13: 978-1450216845

Excerpt from the book….

This is the story of a boy who had hemophilia, a bleeding disorder that resulted in pain, disability and death before adulthood. A new medicine was developed which brought an end to suffering and increased longevity in persons with hemophilia.  The effect of the new medicine was like magic. It was a remarkable revolutionary advancement in the treatment of hemophilia, a medical disorder that had caused suffering for many previous centuries.

The medicine was manufactured from the plasma of paid blood donors.  Unexpectedly, a dark cloud descended when persons infusing the medicine became ill. It was discovered that the new medicine was polluted with hepatitis viruses and HIV.  By the time of discovery it was too late to prevent infection. The boy and 10,000 others in the USA became infected with HIV the virus that causes AIDS. He died from AIDS at age seventeen rather than have a prolonged life that was intended with the new medicine.  The medicine was sold to other countries resulting in thousands of deaths from AIDS all over the world.

In addition to the boy, others like him that received medical care at the same clinic he attended also became infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses. One hundred persons at the treatment center where he received his care died from AIDS or liver failure. A dozen other families who lost a son or father or husband were contacted or interviewed in their homes and asked if they blamed the doctors who prescribed the medicine that resulted in death. Doctors are supposed to provide treatment without causing harm to their patients. The doctors didn’t know that HIV, a new virus that causes AIDS, existed. But could they have known or should they have known?  Do the families view the doctors as guilty of causing harm and death?

The families believe the doctors were incorrect when they told the families to take the medicine and their loved one would live to become an old man and have a near normal life. But they do not believe the doctors are guilty.  They were using the best knowledge available at the time.

However, the families do believe the pharmaceutical manufacturers of the medicine are accountable for the deaths from AIDS in persons who infused their medicine to treat hemophilia. If there was suspicion that the medicine was polluted, why didn’t the producers of the medicine purify it by removing the viruses from the donor plasma?  The manufacturers replied that they didn’t know how to purify the medicine or that the methods of viral depletion were too expensive. But since then, reviews have revealed that although the drug companies didn’t know how to remove the hepatitis viruses and HIV, it was known but not by them. It has been known since World War II that heating plasma inactivates hepatitis viruses. If Hepatitis would have been destroyed in plasma by heating, HIV would have also been eliminated even though its existence was not known. AIDS could have been prevented in hemophilia.

In the USA the system of free marketing and capitalism leads to entrepreneurship resulting in the development of new beneficial medicines by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Remarkable and beneficial new medicines have been developed in the USA using genetic engineering methods with recombinant techniques as a result of capitalism.   The force that drives new development is profitability. But when safety is sacrificed for profitability, in a society without cost controls, greed prevails. The manufacture of medicine to treat hemophilia is a multi-billion dollar industry with intense competition.  Because of human nature regulations are necessary to prevent greed.  The families who lost a loved one from AIDS or liver failure from hepatitis regard the drug companies that made the new medicine for hemophilia as bringing great advancement but guilty of greed.

AIDS is not a mysterious disease. It is the result of HIV infection in humans when the natural occurring virus in simians in Africa, SIV, jumped a species to become HIV in humans.  This came about as the result of the production of the human hepatitis B vaccine. As the result of human behavior, the HIV virus infected intravenous drug users who sold their plasma to pharmaceutical manufacturers of the medicine to treat hemophilia.

The use of a medical treatment requires judgment by the prescribing doctor and the patient recipient.  The benefits of treatment must be compared with the hazards, a trade off. The impact of an activity, a medical treatment or a pharmaceutical innovation, may not be apparent at the time of an action. The risk of harm from a possible but unknown substance in the medicine was judged to be a less threat than the threat of death from bleeding into the brain if medicine was withheld. That turned out to be incorrect.

Sometimes good intentions result in bad things happening.  The intent to prevent hepatitis infection in Africa was a good intention. But the process led to the jumping of a species when SIV of monkeys and chimpanzees mutated to become HIV in humans.

For a balanced society, critical thinking is necessary.  Doctors are closest to their patients and should make treatment decisions, with input from their patients, without influence from pharmaceutical manufacturers and commercial and publicity organizations.

We should not forget the great tragedy that happened in hemophilia when thousands of persons all over the world died from AIDS and liver failure.  AIDS is a man-made disease and could have been avoided. Their families want their story to be told. They should be remembered so that this tragedy does not recur.   They are part of our society and all of us should care what happened to them.

Everett Winslow Lovrien is medical director of Hemophilia Center at the Oregon Health Sciences University and the author of Doctor Guilt?

Bad Blood Documentary Trailer

Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale
A Film by Marilyn Ness

Order your copy here.

BAD BLOOD – Movie Trailer

Documentary “Bad Blood,” by director Marilyn Ness. This movie debuted July 28 in New York City.

What if your life-saving medicine contained deadly viruses and the drug manufacturers, the government, and your own doctors knew but failed to warn you? Through the eyes of survivors and family members, BAD BLOOD: A Cautionary Tale chronicles how a miracle treatment for hemophilia became an agent of death for 10,000 Americans. Faced with evidence that pharmaceutical companies and government regulators knew the product was contaminated with HIV and hepatitis, they launched a powerful and inspiring fight to right the system that failed them and to make it safer for all.