Spanish Government Links Dialysis Deaths, American Medical Product

MADRID-Officials from the Spanish Health Ministry have announced their preliminary findings link the recent deaths of 11 kidney patients and a specific dialysis instrument manufactured in the US.

Officials from Baxter International, Inc, based in Deerfield, Il, said new tests show processing fluid used during manufacturing of the dialysis instrument may be to blame for more than 51 patient deaths before the equipment was taken off the market.

Patients in kidney failure often have dialysis-a procedure that filters the blood of waste normally removed by healthy kidneys. Baxter dialyzers were used during the treatment of the 11 patients in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona.

Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating the matter further.

Information from www.latimes.com, www.baxter.com