Rating: Summary: Awsome! Review: A young man wanted to donate blood to a Palo Alto Blood Bank but they rejected him for having a super low t-cell count. His blood was later accepted by a Red Cross facility and his bad blood caused a recipient to get AIDs. This book is filled with similar horror stories as well as details about this one. The American Red Cross cut corners every chance possible and then fought like pitt balls to avoid taking any responsibility. The Ford Pinto and Dalkon Shield two famous product liability cases left a black mark on corporate America but the irresponsibilty of The American Red Cross is a black mark against all of Christianity. A corporation that specializes in blood and relies on people's donations and uses the cross to engender peoples trust owes more then any car or iud maker. They owe nothing short of their blood because the Christian cross symbolizes Christ's blood on the cross. They sinned against God. The American Red Cross has been immortalized as one of the most greedy and ruthless corporations to ever exist!
Rating: Summary: Awsome! Review: A young man wanted to donate blood to a Palo Alto Blood Bank but they rejected him for having a super low t-cell count. His blood was later accepted by a Red Cross facility and his bad blood caused a recipient to get AIDs. This book is filled with similar horror stories as well as details about this one. The American Red Cross cut corners every chance possible and then fought like pitt balls to avoid taking any responsibility. The Ford Pinto and Dalkon Shield two famous product liability cases left a black mark on corporate America but the irresponsibilty of The American Red Cross is a black mark against all of Christianity. A corporation that specializes in blood and relies on people's donations and uses the cross to engender peoples trust owes more then any car or iud maker. They owe nothing short of their blood because the Christian cross symbolizes Christ's blood on the cross. They sinned against God. The American Red Cross has been immortalized as one of the most greedy and ruthless corporations to ever exist!
Rating: Summary: Review from a Victim Review: I am the grandson of Robert Duane Jones. My grandfather received blood tainted with HIV and Hepatitis in the winter of 1989 from the bloodbank in Portland Oregon. He struggled on for more than a decade with this terrible disease, finally to succomb to it in January of 2002.
Grandpa made national headlines when he and my grandmother sued the Portland Division of the Red Cross in the nineties, which helped to bring about many of the changes that we see today. It was not that the Red Cross is a bad organization, it is that the Red Cross was never before held responsible or accountable for any of it's actions. This book helps to show, like any other book of its nature, the truth about an organization. I still continue to donate blood, and I donate to the Red Cross. The organization does great things around the world, but this book helps us to realize that all things may not be what they appear. Anyone interested in the history of HIV and transfusions should definately read this book, but like anything, you have too look at the whole picture and realize that no organization is without faults.
Rating: Summary: Very Educational and Interesting. Review: Judith Reitman obviously put a lot of work and research into writing this book. All of the information provided is well researched and documented. I would recommend this book to anyone, because it warns us not only about the Red Cross, but it makes us aware about how other non-profit organizations can cut corners to save money as well. It also makes us realize that there are a lot of changes that need to be made to regulate organizations and businesses of any kind for the protection of all of us. I don't think people realize how much one decision can impact other people's lives. Reitman provides a lot of examples in the form of true stories which really makes this book that much more interesting.
Rating: Summary: Very Educational and Interesting. Review: Judith Reitman obviously put a lot of work and research into writing this book. All of the information provided is well researched and documented. I would recommend this book to anyone, because it warns us not only about the Red Cross, but it makes us aware about how other non-profit organizations can cut corners to save money as well. It also makes us realize that there are a lot of changes that need to be made to regulate organizations and businesses of any kind for the protection of all of us. I don't think people realize how much one decision can impact other people's lives. Reitman provides a lot of examples in the form of true stories which really makes this book that much more interesting.
Rating: Summary: A good lesson for us all. Review: Ms. Reitman should be commended for her courage in bringing to light an unforgiveable human tragedy. In other countries those in charge of the Red Cross blood program would have been jailed for their callous disregard of human life. With warnings and red flags galore, instead of admitting there was a terrible problem with the blood supply, the Red Cross blood program officials calculatedly chose to proceed with the status quo. Their actions cost the lives of the very people whom the Red Cross was established to help.The results of their actions are ongoing and still affect the lives of people who trusted them. The FDA has been attempting for years to force the Red Cross blood program into compliance with safe blood practices and yet, with coffers overflowing, the Red Cross is claiming any penalties will jeopardize their very existence. How can they, in good conscience and with mounting evidence against them, still refuse to accept responsibility for the tragedy they knowingly caused. This book is a good lesson for us all. Trusting an organization based solely on reputation and its self promotion opens the door to abuse. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all the victims of the Red Cross blood program's deceit....the victims....those who received the tainted blood products as well as to those in the medical field who were unknowingly made accomplices as they transfused and administered those blood products in an attempt to save lives. How awful they must now feel.
Rating: Summary: A good lesson for us all. Review: Ms. Reitman should be commended for her courage in bringing to light an unforgiveable human tragedy. In other countries those in charge of the Red Cross blood program would have been jailed for their callous disregard of human life. With warnings and red flags galore, instead of admitting there was a terrible problem with the blood supply, the Red Cross blood program officials calculatedly chose to proceed with the status quo. Their actions cost the lives of the very people whom the Red Cross was established to help. The results of their actions are ongoing and still affect the lives of people who trusted them. The FDA has been attempting for years to force the Red Cross blood program into compliance with safe blood practices and yet, with coffers overflowing, the Red Cross is claiming any penalties will jeopardize their very existence. How can they, in good conscience and with mounting evidence against them, still refuse to accept responsibility for the tragedy they knowingly caused. This book is a good lesson for us all. Trusting an organization based solely on reputation and its self promotion opens the door to abuse. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all the victims of the Red Cross blood program's deceit....the victims....those who received the tainted blood products as well as to those in the medical field who were unknowingly made accomplices as they transfused and administered those blood products in an attempt to save lives. How awful they must now feel.
Rating: Summary: Finally The Truth About Blood Transfusions! Review: The author concludes that because Red Cross makes a LOT of money on blood and because a terrible thing - AIDS- happened to patients, then the Red Cross must have profited from these terrible things. Well, that may be true (and there are Red Cross employees who did jail time in Canada, France, Japan, etc. to suggest there is something to that) but there are no facts here to support the connection. There has been no investigative journalism done here. This approach will appeal to conspiracy theorists, but for a well-researched history that comes alive, and for supported facts, you'd be much better off with BLOOD: an epic history by Douglas Starr, ISBN 0688176496
Rating: Summary: overlooked Review: The author of this book states her opion of the red cross and seems to find the people of wich were infected by hiv and aids and tell their stories but, did she forget the hundred of thousands this instituition helps every day with the blood porducts they collect. I wonder if she her self has ever donated blood.Lets not forget that the red cross is monitored very closly by both the CDC and the FDA. I encorage people to rent the movie "And the band played on" it explains alot about the aids epademic. and remember when you point a finger at someone(the red cross) you have 4 pointing back at youself.
Rating: Summary: Poor 'tabloid' journalism Review: This book is an example of poor jounalism that creates a satire of life. This book only critises the American Red Cross, with poor reinforcement with data. It almost seems that the author just critises this organization for the heck of it. It conveys a terrible message to the public, scaring them no to "Give blood". To my knowledge, other blood banks too, have the same problem with testing, etc. at the time, but the American Red Cross, in this case, is targeted because it is the largest blood bank in the US. Is it right to direct all this attention when the author should have done a "big picture" approach rather than using the American Red Cross as a focal point?
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