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 "plasma" ...
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High Cost of City Hall
Excessive spending and lavish furnishings for San Jose's new city hall inspired this San Jose Mercury News investigation. City officials planned to equip the new building with 45 million dollars worth of furniture, plasma televisions, and the most costly technology. At the same time, the city was undergoing a series of budget deficits, layoffs, and service cuts to residents over the years. According to the questionnaire, "city officials privately consulted with Cisco about what technology it ought to deploy in the new building and then designed an $8 million computer-and-telephone network using only the company's equipment."
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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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Bad Blood
Newsday investigation finds transfusion errors in hospitals kill scores of patients each year. Overall, at least 441 patients died between 1995 and 2001 following transfusions. Experts suspect the actual number of transfusion-related deaths is much higher and that some hospitals fail to report them to the government as required. Flaws in state and federal reporting systems, insufficient government monitoring of hospitals and ambiguous federal regulations all help to minimize the problem.
Tags: blood; transfusions; hospitals; blood banks; blood type; plasma
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No title (id: 12568)
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as many as 10,000 hemophiliacs in the United States were infected with the AIDS virus from blood-clotting medicines made with human plasma. Today, they are dying at the rate of one a day. The plasma-products industry has portrayed this as an unforeseeable tragedy that could not have been prevented. The Philadelphia Inquirer investigation showed otherwise. (Aug. - Dec., 1995)
Tags: Shaw CAR Blood money and AIDS Contest entry HIV FOIA 48 pgs.
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No title (id: 10588)
Discover Magazine writes an article on how physicians and government officials in France knowingly allowed at least a thousand people to recieve blood or blood products contaminated by the virus that causes AIDS, Aug. 1993.
Tags: Hunter hemophiliac plasma CDC CNTS Ministry of Health 8 pages
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No title (id: 7584)
KTRK-TV (Houston) uncovers a scam by the management of the largest Texas coast charity blood bank to sell to the highest bidder blood and plasma donated freely by Houston area residents; finds that management received bonuses of almost $1 million, September - October 1990.
Tags: TX Dolcefino
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No title (id: 6429)
KCCI-TV (Des Moines, Iowa) reveals a blood supplier that released HIV positive blood; also exposes a problematic plasma donation center; utilizes FDA reports obtained through a Freedom of Information request, Nov. 15 - 18, 1989.
Tags: TAPE; AIDS Oswalt
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Plasma for Profit
WGR-TV (Buffalo) reporter goes undercover at a blood plasma center to show how lack of medical training of staff and poor treatment of donors pose health risks, 1980. TAPE
Tags: Tape
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No title (id: 3209)
WTVF-TV (Nashville) reports on the growing role of the Red Cross in the for-profit plasma business; the volunteer organization has boosted its revenues while it keeps its not-for-profit status, 1979. (script only)
Tags: None