Thursday, April 27, 2006

What has happened to the Red Cross?

We've read about their poor performance in Katrina's aftermath. They have had three presidents in three years. In 2003 they were ordered by the courts to improve their blood safety provisions. They're trying to address the first two problems, but are having a very hard time addressing the third, blood safety.

The court order imposed a fine of up to $10,000 a day for each unit of bad blood. There have been dozens of fines imposed under this order. In 2004 they released 607 pints of contaminated blood in New Jersey. In November 2005, more than two years after the court order, they were fined $47,000. They face an even larger fine stemming from 200 problems at its NY blood facility.

It's not as though blood is a small deal for the Red Cross. It is, by far, the largest contributor to the organization's revenue. It brings in $2.1 billion out of total revenue of $3.92 billion.

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