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Following the U.S. heparin recall, three Japanese companies and Germany have recalled heparin as a precautionary measure – elevating the level of concern over the source of heparin from Chinese pigs.

Japanese Heparin recall

Several news sources report that three Japanese companies recalled their heparin product amid concerns that injuries and deaths surrounding the product might materialize there. Japan receives its heparin supply from the same sources as the U.S.; however, no adverse reactions have yet been reported.

German recall

Unlike the Japanese recall, 80 German patients have experienced side effects from heparin use. Germany’s medical authority recently recalled a local version of heparin that contained raw ingredients from Chinese pigs. The authority said that other forms of heparin that are better processed have not been linked to adverse side effects.

Reported injuries

Hundreds of injuries have been reported due to heparin use. Heparin is a prescription injectable blood coagulant often used in hemodialysis (the filtering of blood) and cardiac invasive procedures. Douglass Kreis, a Florida attorney whose firm protects the rights of consumers who are seriously injured due to defective drugs such as heparin, explained why people are suffering injuries:

Comparing heparin to pharmaceutical drugs, for example, pharmaceutical pills are ingested. They are metabolized. The body does some cleansing of what’s ingested and so the body has already gone through this protective process. The difference is that heparin is injected right into the blood. If a product is adulterated, a person is at great risk for an acute event because the product travels through the typical route of passage to the body before it hits the liver, so that the liver is not able to assist in cleaning out impurities, then you’ve got immediate contact with something which has harmful bacteria or other adulterated qualities with the body and its vital organs.

Kreis says that when pills are taken, the enzymes in the stomach work on the pill and that it goes through the intestinal tract, through the liver and finally gets into the blood stream. He compared that to injectable drugs and told us that, “With heparin, people are suffering from pulmonary episodes, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, edema and swelling, sweating, rapid blood pressure drop or rapid falling in blood pressure. These can send the body into shock and there’s evidence of deaths within the United States among consumers who have received heparin treatment.”

If you’ve been injured due to heparin use, contact an attorney to discuss your situation. The consultation is free and without obligation. To contact a qualified attorney whose practice focuses in this area of law, please click here.