Baxter:
Letter to patients
Baxter
Healthcare Corporation 847.948.2000
One Baxter Parkway
Deerfield, Illinois 60015-4633
Baxter
November 5, 2001
Dear Baxter Patient,
Baxter
is deeply saddened by the recent reports
of hemodialysis patient deaths
and we extend our sympathy to family
members of those patients. Since first
learning of a potential problem with
our A and AF
series dialyzers, we encouraged
a thorough investigation by international
health authorities and independent
medical experts, in addition to conducting
our own in-depth analysis.
Given
our utmost concern for patient safety,
we continued our intensive investigation,
even after exhausting all standard
internationally recognized safety
and toxicity tests. We diligently
pursued every potential lead based
on the facts available to us and even
began pursuing other less obvious
courses of investigation in search
of what could be the cause of the
unexplained deaths.
Over
this past weekend, we believe we have
uncovered the probable cause and felt
a responsibility to make public our
findings immediately, even though
confirmatory studies remain under
way. Our preliminary tests indicate
that a fluid used in the manufacturing
of a small number of these dialyzers
is the likely cause of the tragic
events. Still, we believe there remain
substantive gaps in information about
the facts associated with many of
the patient deaths that will result
in ongoing uncertainty. As such and
given our overriding priority of patient
safety, we've decided the most prudent
course of action is to permanently
cease manufacturing these dialyzers.
We will be working with medical professionals,
regulatory bodies, testing authorities,
nephrology experts and families of
the deceased to address all issues.
It
is important that I clarify that our
actions only impact the A, AF and
AX dialyzers. All other Baxter products
remain unaffected by the findings
of our investigation and our subsequent
decision to cease manufacturing. This
includes other Baxter dialyzers, hemodialysis
instruments and ancillaries, peritoneal
dialysis products and all other Baxter
supplied products and services.
We
remain committed to our mission to
improve the quality of life for people
with renal disease and to developing
essential therapies and technologies
to meet your ongoing needs. You can
be assured we will retain this important
focus.
Sincerely,
Alan
L. Heller
Baxter Senior Vice President
President, Renal business
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