Blood from commercial blood banks has proved to be one of the major sources of serum hepatitis, which causes the deaths of at least 3,500 Americans each year and the injuring of another 50,000. One agency says that the real rate could be from two to ten times that high, because physicians often fail to report such cases.

Serum Hepatitis in Korea

◆ According to Dr. Chong Hwan-guk, 40 percent of the patients receiving blood transfusions in one Korean hospital were infected with serum hepatitis from the blood. He said that this is the highest rate of liver infections in the world. Reporting on his findings, The Korea Herald of January 14, 1972, said: “The report further showed that the liver troubles occurred in 15 per cent of those who received one bottle of blood transfused and 80 per cent of those who had more than 10 bottles of blood transfused into their body systems.”