The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "blood samples" ...
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DNA Deception
When state health officials were sued for storing infant blood samples without parental consent, they said it was for medical research. The Tribune shows that these health officials were also turning over hundreds of dried blood samples to the federal government without informing the public.
Tags: medical research; DNA; blood samples; health officials; public
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Blood Errors
The series -- the result of an intensive Freedom of Information battle with the Food and Drug Administration -- "was two-pronged: an initial (three-part) series found hundreds of hospital patients across the U.S. had died following blood transfusions. The investigation found that "hospital labs mislabeled blood, nurses transfused it into the wrong patients, phlebotomists drew blood samples from the wrong people and, in some cases, deadly contaminated blood was transfused into patients." A secondary investigation "developed as an offshoot of the series. A special blood plasma made on Long Island and sold by the American Red Cross to thousands of hospitals was killing liver transplant patients." Newsday documented 16 deaths in liver transplant patients and found that the plasma was deficient in a crucial protein, making it especially dangerous to people with liver disease.
Tags: blood; hospitals; medicine; American Red Cross; transfusions; Long Island; plasma; Food and Drug Administration; FDA; FOIA; database mapping project
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Dead or alive?
WISH-TV investigates the unsolved murder of a young black woman who was killed on a main street in Martinsville, a predominantly white Indiana town, in the 1960s. The reporters uncover the name, the date of birth and the social security number of the prime suspect from an envelope kept by the victim's family. The team finds that the suspect - James Richard Smith - whom the police never went after, had a record with the Missouri Department of Corrections. A hidden camera captures a video of the suspect, supposed to be dead for decades, disapproving a claim the police made for a long time. The report also discovers that police have taken new blood and DNA samples from the suspect.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; crime; violence; race relations; minorities; blacks; African-Americans; FOIA
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DNA Databank
A WNEM-TV investigation uncovers the existence of "a government warehouse where DNA from millions of Michigan newborns is stored." The reporter finds that the genetic information is taken from newborns' blood samples collected for various health tests. The series tells the story in the light of the "mapping of entire human genome" and the "potential danger such a database could impose on a family's privacy." The story reveals that "few parents had ever been told sensitive information on their kids was being collected." It also warns about potential discrimination problems because of genetic diseases.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; human genome; genetics; DNA; newborns; health