In case you were wondering about our nation's blood supply.  I was.

Red Cross Identifys Clumps in Blood Supply
Wed Feb 12,10:39 AM ET 

By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - The mysterious white globules found in bags of donated blood in the South were identified by the American Red Cross on Tuesday as clumps of normal blood components. But why the clumps are forming in such large quantities is still a mystery.

The globules were identified as platelets, white blood cells and fibrin strands. All three components are normally present in donated blood, and some clumping is normal, authorities said. But the sheer number of clumps is unusual.

The Red Cross findings are similar to test results from blood bag maker Baxter International Inc., which said the particles are natural components of blood and are not caused by the plastic bags.

"Clumping of blood components is not an unusual observation in collected blood," said Deborah Spak, Baxter spokeswoman. "We're looking at all aspects of the manufacturing process. Nothing is being ruled out."

Blood expert Dr. Christopher Hillyer of Emory University's transfusion program said: "I think there's an inciting factor that could be a physical or chemical event, the way the bags are stored or synthetic medication or part of the bag manufacturing process."

For Complete Story

Now you know.  Best wishes,  Dr. Rehert