China's Ministry of Health has issued an emergency circular, asking all medical institutions across the country to halt the use of disposable vein transfusion needles made by Shanghai Damei Medical Plastic Factory.
The MOH circular is a direct outcome of an accident in Duanzhou District Women's and Children's Hospital, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province where a needle broke off in the vein of a child's head during a transfusion. An investigation found out that the vein transfusion needle used for the child was made by SDMPF with the series number of 20080421. An experiment on six other needles of the same type that were in the same batch with the one in question showed that all of them were easily broken.
China's National Monitoring Center for Drug Side Effects concluded after a preliminary analysis that this is a serious product quality problem. Based on CNMCBED's conclusion, the State Food and Drug Administration has also issued a notice to recall all the disposable vein transfusion needles made by SDMPF.
