[Ken McGuire]

Thanks to all who have contributed so far to this thread. It has been a bit of an eye-opener to me as to medications I kind of assumed were totally blood - free.

[pswanton]

Hi Ken, do we need to let the branch know that we had a favourable response at the Newtownards hospital, it would be nice to let them know that the staff there were excellent?

[jgrossberg]

To user Fran, who sent feedback asking for information about several drugs, including Entocort:
Click on the following link to obtain more info and watch a brief animation about Entocort. I do not believe it is made with or contains any blood fraction. It is a glucocorticoid used to treat Crohn's disease. I am looking up the other drugs you asked about, but could you provide me with an email address so I can email you the information? Thanks very much for your feedback! We appreciate the opportunity to help if we can.
ENTOCORT EC:Science:Mechanism of Action

[poohbear76]

Hi,
I'm just wondering if someone could clarify a couple of things for me. I am wondering about blood in the TB shot. Is it in just the vaccination or the shot that you get to be tested for TB as well (or are they the same shot)? Also, am I correct in assuming that the varicella zoster immune globulin vaccination is the chicken pox vaccine that dr's are now recommending for children?
Thanks in advance for any clarification that can be provided.

Kathleen

[Lynda_Garland]

Hello,

I'm not in the medical profession but I've been doing a lot of research lately about vaccines, so I thought I'd share some of what I've found.

BCG vaccines, used for tuberculosis, are made from live bacterium grown in special cultures, but I couldn't see where it mentioned blood fractions, though it did mention stabilizers, just not what kind.

Some excerpts from a website MedicinesComplete:

"Varicella (chickenpox) and herpes zoster (shingles, zoster) are distinct clinical entities caused by the same virus, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a member of the family Herpesviridae."

"Varicella-zoster immune globulin (VZIG) contains globulin fractions taken from the plasma of adults who have a high level of antibodies to this virus; and because it's from human plasma there is the potential of disease transmission."

"Because VZIG is prepared from human plasma, it is a potential vehicle for transmission of human viruses, including the causative agents of viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and theoretically may carry a risk of transmitting the causative agent of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) or variant CJD (vCJD)."

In NoBlood's wiki section under "Fractions Summary" there's information about blood fractions in pharmaceuticals, though it's still under construction so some sections are incomplete.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but I hope it helps a bit.

Lynda

[jgrossberg]

Thanks, Lynda, so much for your post. This is one area in which information about contents of a drug is very hard to get. Doctors and clinicians often don't even know there is a blood component in some of these vaccines, and often don't consider it important.

Little by little, all of the information we have on our forum and Wiki sites will be pulled together in the Blood Guide, with the help of members like you and the others who have taken their time to post here. The Guide will be a truly cooperative endeavor. Our hope is that it will be possible just to type in the name of a drug in our search bar, and obtain accurate, current information about it from one location on the site.

I am still campaigning for more volunteers to research specific drugs and help format the resultant information into usable data for the Guide. Anybody interested should contact me. Even if you could only look up one drug it would be a big help. Thanks!

Can you tell me when this guide will be ready and how can I get one?

Thanks

[WannaLive4Ever]

About the Varicella-zoster immune globulin (VZIG), it is administered to "high-risk" people soon after they have been exposed to chicken pox.
I would be willing to research a few medications to see if I can find out if they have blood/fractions in them if it's still needed.

[smartin]

What about prostaglandins, e.g. prostaglandin F? I know they are a type of hormone, but does this tx contain any blood components? I haven't been able to find anything on my own about it. THank you!

[g.g.]

Lori,
Please, please make the Medguide on blood and bloodfractions available/understandable to the average Joe(or Jane). I am desperately trying to educate myself on the options available, as well as what is unacceptable to me. I simply need facts: what are in these products? How are they made? How are they administered/used??? Any morsel of fact you can make available, including what meds. have blood fractions in them would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance for your time and trouble.
G.G.