Patients must discontinue any anticoagulant medications before starting aquapheresis so they can be placed on intravenous Heparin therapy.
The raw material for the recalled heparin batches was processed in China from pig's intestines by the American pharmaceutical firm Scientific Protein Laboratories.
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In November 2008, the FDA seized eleven lots of heparin from Celsus Laboratories Inc., a manufacturer in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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In March 2008, major recalls of heparin, a substance widely used as an injectable anticoagulant, were announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to contamination of the raw heparin stock imported from China.