Feds Hit Red Cross With $9.6M Fine

The feds have slapped the American Red Cross with a $9.6 million fine for careless blood management practices, MSNBC reports. The FDA uncovered no actual harm to blood recipients, but expressed concern over poorly trained staff and slipshod record-keeping: We "cannot definitively say there was never any danger to the blood supply since the violations can create conditions that could lead to potential safety consequences,” an official said.

Facing its second multi-million-dollar FDA fine in two years, the Red Cross accused officials of concentrating on a 15-month-old inspection in Philadelphia where practices have since been improved. “We are disappointed that the FDA believed it necessary to impose a fine for an inspection conducted so long ago,” a Red Cross official said. Among the FDA's findings: a donor sprayed with blood during a drive in Peoria, Illinois, and a failure to contact patients who may have received contaminated blood. (More American Red Cross stories.)