Artificial Blood Experiment: Is Your City Participating?

ABC World News Tonight July 7, 2006, By ASA R. ESLOCKER and ASTRID HILL

July 7, 2006 - - Northfield Lab's experimental blood substitute Polyheme iscurrently in randomized phase III clinical trials recruiting patientswithout informed consent all over the country. At one point, it was beingtested in as many as 27 cities; it is still being tested in 23 hospitals in20 cities. With the FDA's approval, Northfield Lab has recruited hospitals toparticipate in the trial study with exemption from informed consentrequirements on study participants. Although Northfield Lab claims thatextensive information on the study has been made public, a vast majority ofthe general public has never heard of the trial.Below is a list of the cities and hospitals that are currently participatingin the Polyheme trials. Check the list to see if you live an area where youcould become a trial participant without your informed consent. To opt out of the study, contact Northfield Labs(http://www.northfieldlabs.com/contact.html) or a participating hospital andrequest a blue bracelet. If worn, you will be exempt from the trial.CaliforniaUC San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, Calif.; No longer recruiting Scripps Mercy, San Diego, Calif.; No longer recruitingColoradoDenver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colo.DelawareChristiana Hospital, Newark, Del.GeorgiaMedical Center of Central Georgia, Macon, Ga.IllinoisLoyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill.IndianaWishard Memorial Hospital, Indianapolis, Ind. Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind. KansasUniversity of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan.KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Ky.MichiganDetroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, Mich. Sinai Grace Hospital, Detroit, Mich. MinnesotaThe Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.New YorkAlbany Medical Center, Albany, N.Y.; SuspendedNorth CarolinaDuke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.OhioMetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Suspended University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Ohio PennsylvaniaLehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Penn.; No longer recruiting St. Luke's Regional Resource Trauma Center, Bethlehem, Penn.Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Penn.TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee-Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. Johnson City Medical Center, Johnson City, Tenn.; SuspendedTexasMemorial-Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas; No longer recruiting Memorial-Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas; No longer recruiting University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam, Houston, TexasUtahUniversity of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, UtahVirginiaSentara Norfolk Hospital, Norfolk, Va.; No longer recruiting Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Va.Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Va.; Suspended West VirginiaWest Virginia University/Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, Morgantown, WestVa.(source: www.clinicaltrials.gov where it says "Verified by NorthfieldLaboratories June 2006)(http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00076648?order=1)Copyright (c) 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures