For those who missed this particular story, here's a little explanation of my latest youtube animation. According to a recent UK health report, the risk of transmitting CJD (the human form of mad-cow disease) through blood transfusions is 'substantial'. From an article on the BBC:
The name of the third patient to be infected has not been released, but it is known that he received the blood transfusion at the age of 23. He later became ill, and seven and a half years later he was referred to the NHS National Prion Clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery where his symptoms were confirmed to be caused by vCJD. He joined an experimental Medical Research Council trial for a treatment called Prion-1 which began in 2004, in which patients were given a drug called quinacrine, but he died a year later at the age of 32.
Apparently there are nearly 2 million units of blood transfused every year and who knows how many are infected with CJD. Cheery thought for the new year ahead.
