First Nations University raises concerns about blood-sampling devices
CBC News
Posted: Jan 18, 2013 3:43 PM CST
Last Updated: Jan 18, 2013 3:34 PM CST
First Nations University of Canada wants to contact current and former students in its Northern Health Science Access Program who took blood samples in a biology lab. (Google Street View )
First Nations University of Canada is trying to contact health sciences students who attended its Prince Albert campus amid concerns blood-taking devices weren't properly cleaned.
In a news release Friday, the university said that between 2002 and 2011, students who participated in an exercise to determine their blood types drew blood using lancets attached to devices that project the sharp points.
The students were in the Northern Health Science Access Program and the samples were taken in a biology lab.
The lancets were only used once, but the holding devices were cleaned and reused, the university said.
"The cleaning involved immersion in alcohol, wiping of the exterior and air drying. Standards of practice in this area now require these devices to be used only on one individual," the university said in the release.
The university didn't say how many students and former students might have used the devices. It says it's trying to contact them.
It also says the risk is "extremely low" that students may have been exposed to any "blood borne" pathogen such as HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
As soon as the university realized there was a risk, it contacted health officials to assess the situation and ask for recommendations, said Anthony de Padua, the director of health sciences at the FNUC northern campus.
The university said it's reviewing its procedures to make sure there aren't any similar "potential biohazard situations" at all of its facilities in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.
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