Dr. Mercola March 11 2008 43,475 views
According to the FDA, the Chinese facility that supplies the active ingredient of the widely used blood thinner heparin was never inspected because the agency confused it with another plant that had the same name.
A team of FDA inspectors is now headed to China to inspect the correct plant, as part of an effort to determine what caused a sudden spike in serious reactions to heparin.
More than 350 adverse reactions to the drug have been reported to the FDA since the end of 2007, including a dangerous drop in blood pressure, breathing difficulties, and vomiting. Four patients who took the drug died.
Federal law does not require inspections of foreign drugmakers, although the agency will in most instances inspect before a new foreign drug or active drug ingredient is allowed in FDA-approved prescription medications. Such an inspection does not necessarily include an on-site visit if the company has passed previous inspections for other drugs.
There are so many problems with the FDA at this point; it’s hard to know where to start. Their failure to protect American consumers include whammies like:
And that’s barely scratching the surface of the scab that is the FDA.
This is not the first time the safety of heparin has surfaced in the news. Heparin is one of the drugs that, frequently enough, cause of severe harm or death due to medical error in infants and young children.
Children given adult doses of heparin will suffer life threatening internal bleeding. Such was the case of actor Dennis Quaid’s twin babies, for example, who were given 10,000 units instead of 10 units of heparin, at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, last November.
One of the root causes for their utter abandonment of public safety is that the majority of the FDA’s funding comes from the very companies that it is seeking to monitor and evaluate. It’s a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse. The FDA has progressively morphed into a mere pawn and instrument of the drug industry, which has little to do with drug safety, and everything to do with maximizing profits.
They have a very sweet and mutually rewarding relationship with the drug industry and that is not likely to change anytime soon.
If you want to read one of the most fascinating interviews I’ve ever posted on this site, read the detailed expose by FDA whistle-blower Dr. David Graham, who works in the FDA and informed the nation about the Vioxx scandal. These candid remarks from one of the top insiders at the FDA provide amazing insights into just how scandalous the situation really is over there.
The only real solution isn't minor changes to the existing structure, but a complete reform of the FDA. As long as a significant portion of the FDA's budget is being funded by the very companies they are supposedly regulating, real change is virtually impossible.
But until then, please, don't risk your money or your life on a paradigm designed to profit from your ill health. Instead, switch to natural methods that will allow your body to heal itself without the need for the deadly drugs being pushed on you by the drug companies and the FDA.
Amen, Nebraskamom7 - if ever there was something to pray for!
Please, to all of you still planning on voting for Ron Paul...
although he does have some good ideas, he simply will not get enough votes to win. The same goes for Ralph Nadar. All your votes for either candidate will do is take away much needed votes AGAINST McCain. We can NOT afford for McCain to win as he will further the Bush agenda. This is a very crucial time in our history to make our votes actually count to elect a president who does stand a chance of winning and who is committed to cleaning up all the environmental and governmental messes of the Bush era. Please consider voting for Barack Obama instead, a wise, decent man of integrity and the one candidate who has a chance of winning against McCain! This is simply not the time to try to send a message about other parties, although I agree that is an honorable thing to do. The fate of America and the world is at risk, save your independent party votes for a less disasterous time, please! Send Obama your concerns for health freedom, he speaks for freedom of choice and is progressive enough to consider the wisdom of natural healing and is NOT in the lobbyists' pockets, unlike Hillary. If the people speak, he will listen. Do your research on him, the more you learn, the more you will find to like about him. I sincerely thank you if you do.
Dear Radiance 333, Obama is simply put "the scariest candidate out there!!!" Of course politics are always debatable, please EVERYONE do your own research!!! He is a socialist baby killer. Google his stand on the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. I think he is a sick human being. If we don't protect the sanctity of life I shudder to think what will come of this great nation! Also, his support of The Mothering Act. Forcing new moms to take antidepressants after birth to prevent PPD.
I love America, we need to protect our freedoms!!! Go Ron Paul 2008