Deaths of Delaware Patients May Be Linked to Heparin

Baxter is having more problems with its heparin. The FDA is investigating whether the deaths of two patients in Delaware are linked to a brand of heparin blood thinner that they sell in intravenous bags. Thankfully, the FDA reports that this “appears to be an isolated incident.” China Heparin Debacle #2.

It is hard to understate how important heparin is as a product. Baxter sells about 100,000 vials a day. There are approximately 450,000 people in this country on dialysis and Heparin is used by virtually almost all of them. Heparin is also frequently used in heart surgery.