Bad Blood. A Cautionary Tale

Description

In the 1960s, new treatments known as clotting factor concentrates were expected to transform hemophilia into a manageable condition. But these pooled-plasma drugs also carried a hidden risk of viral contamination, and by the mid-1980s, 10,000 hemophiliacs had been infected with HIV and 15,000 with hepatitis C - amounting to the most lethal medical disaster in U.S. history. This program investigates the origins and impact of the tragedy. Using expert interviews, patient testimony, and archival materials, the film asks: Was the FDA too close to the pharmaceutical industry to protect the public? What is the flip side to the argument that profitability drives research? How has the hemophilia community moved forward? The facts speak for themselves in this story of grief, recovery, and inspiration - a story of survivors fighting to change a system that failed them.

Runtime

82 min

Subjects

Genre

Date of Publication

[2010], c2010

Database

Films on Demand

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