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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Second Blood Donor Has Rare Brain Disease

Compiled From Wire Services

A second blood donor has been diagnosed with a rare, fatal brain disease that led the Red Cross last week to order a withdrawal of thousands of units of blood, officials said Tuesday.

The Red Cross started withdrawing blood products last week after learning that a Vancouver, British Columbia, donor had been diagnosed with the neurological disorder.

The agency said it learned Tuesday that a Toronto donor also was diagnosed with probable CreutzfeldtJakob disease.

There are no documented cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease being transmitted by blood and no test for the disease. But the Red Cross, together with Bayer Inc., which processed the plasma, withdrew a number of products as a precaution.