THE INADEQUATE RESPONSE OF THE FDA TO THE CRISIS OF AIDS IN THE BLOOD SUPPLY

Abstract

The response of the blood industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the problem of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the nation's blood supply has been called "inadequate and abysmal," "unnecessarily slow," and "woefully inept." During the early 1 980s, the AIDS virus was contaminating our nation's blood supply while the blood industry and the FDA refused to take appropriate steps to stop it--they, quite simply, "failed us." This paper will focus on the time of uncertainty ó the time from when the first AIDS case was diagnosed to the time when AIDS testing became available and widespread. The failure of the FDA to protect the safety of the blood supply during these years will be examined in detail. The sequence of events during these years will be recounted and analyzed to determine exactly what happened, why this breakdown occurred, and what can be done to prevent such failures from occurring in the future.