San Francisco, June 03: Thousands of haemophiliacs filed a class-action lawsuit against Bayer Corp. and several other companies, claiming they knowingly sold blood contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Federal court, alleges the companies conspired to sell blood-clotting products that were manufactured using blood from sick, high-risk donors. It also alleges the companies continued distributing them abroad in 1984 and 1985, after they stopped selling them in the United States because of the known risk of HIV and hepatitis transmission.
Monday's suit was filed on behalf of foreigners who received the drug, said attorney Robert Nelson.
“This is a worldwide tragedy,'' Nelson said. ”Thousands of haemophiliacs have unnecessarily died from AIDS and many thousands more are infected with HIV or hepatitis C.''
Bayer Corp. and Baxter Healthcare Corp., also named in the lawsuit, did not immediately return calls seeking comment after business hours Monday. Bureau Report