People with chronic fatigue syndrome shouldn’t donate blood until health officials complete a review into whether the disorder is tied to an infectious agent that might spread to recipients, U.S. advisers said.
The Washington-based American Red Cross, the nation’s largest supplier of blood products, announced Dec. 3 that it won’t accept blood from potential donors diagnosed with the syndrome. Some studies have found that a virus called XMRV may be linked to the condition.
More than 1 million Americans have chronic fatigue syndrome, which leaves people exhausted and can cause joint and muscle pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
A panel of experts convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 9-4 today in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that the scientific evidence supports rejecting donations from people with the illness, Shelly Burgess, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an e-mail.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.
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