Didn't Edwards sue the Red Cross to get them to test blood

[BR_Parkway]

for AID's? I've heard this before but couldn't find a thing on Google and I've got a wingnut constantly bitching about "trial lawyers" who just had surgery - if Edwards really did this, I'd love to surprise my co worker about who he has to thank

[NMDemDist2]

1. did you check the Edwards page? or Kerry's page? n/t

[Bertha Venation]

2. While you're at it, see if you can find out if anyone is trying to take

any action against the Red Cross to get them to lift their asinine ban on donations from gay men.

You can donate blood if you had a tattoo a year ago -- a prime method of blood-borne disease transmission -- but not if you're a gay man. In a monogamous relationship and both of you HIV-? Who cares. You're gay and we can't take that chance.

/hijack

Sorry. I'm in a foul mood and this came out of nowhere.

[BR_Parkway]

3. Nothing there either and I'm sure I read it somewhere before

[BR_Parkway]

4. Agreed, most guys I know just lie on the form but it's not right

I did find this petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/jml5564/petition.html

[BR_Parkway]

5. Agreed, most guys I know just lie on the form but it's not right

I did find this petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/jml5564/petition.html

[poliguru]

6. You're not going to believe where I found it

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1166252/posts

It's a NYTimes article complaining about Edwards' trial work. I'd like to know what these people would do if their child was permanently brain damaged because of the doctor's poor decision. I understand medicine is imprecise, but I'd rather have an unnecessary C-section just in case than hurt my child. Then again, we Dems aren't supposed to care about such things. After all, aren't we all baby killers? Truly baffling.

I'll keep looking for a more reputable article, though.

[displacedtexan]

7. I think it's a bill, not a court case.

SENATOR EDWARDS INTRODUCES BILL TO HELP PATIENTS
WHO RECEIVED HIV-TAINTED TRANSFUSIONS AND TRANSPLANTS

April 22, 2002

WASHINGTON–Senator John Edwards Monday introduced legislation that will help patients who received HIV-infected blood products and transplants. The humanitarian relief fund would be named after Steve Grissom, the Cary resident who was infected while being treated for leukemia.

"What happened to Steve Grissom and the thousands of people like him is a national tragedy, and I hope this legislation can help victims of tainted transfusions," Senator Edwards said.

In 1985, Grissom underwent chemotherapy for Leukemia and was transfused with 357 units of specially prepared "packed-cell" blood. Each unit came from 12 to 14 donors, meaning Grissom received blood from over 4,000 donors, none of whom was tested with a then-available antibody test.

Grissom's story is not unique. An estimated 12,000 Americans contracted HIV from tainted blood and blood products. Even more got the disease through tissue and organ transplants. In the early 1980s, the U.S. government is believed to have known about the risks of HIV infection, but may have failed to do enough to warn recipients or to institute safe blood practices, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Science.

http://www.senate.gov/~edwards/press/2002/0422a-pr.html

Edited: Sorry, I just read the NYT article posted above. Edwards did sue the Red Cross on behalf of AIDS victims.