Woman Receives Disease-Tainted Blood

Feb. 22 -- Nancy Kaner lives in constant fear that she may have contracted a rare disease that will eat away at her brain.

Nearly five years ago, Kaner learned that blood she received to treat an immune system deficiency was recalled because the man who donated it died of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, which is also called CJD.

She had already had the blood in her system for a year at the time that she was notified, but there was little Kaner could do anyway.

"MARYANN WILL ADD QUOTES HERE," Kaner told Good Morning America.

Blood banks across the United States have recalled batches of plasma donated by victims of CJD during the 1980s and mid-1990s, though there is no evidence that the disease is transmitted through the blood. American Red Cross officials have stressed that the blood supply here is safe. You can check the National Notification Center for blood recalls.

"MARYANN WILL ADD QUOTES HERE," said ???? of the American Red Cross.

Mad Cow Link?

Researchers say that CJD is related to mad cow disease, but that it is not the same disease. In March 1996, the British government announced that 10 young people had died of a brain-destroying disease that they suspected was caused by the' consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which is commonly called mad cow disease.

Those scientists said that the disease that the young people died from was a variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. Reports say that 88 people in the United Kingdom, including five who are still alive, are confirmed to have this variant of CJD.

There have been three cases in France, which is a major importer of British beef and animal feed, and one case in the Republic of Ireland, in a patient who had spent many years in England.

The American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control say there is no blood test to screen for CJD. There has never been a documented case where the transfer of blood has resulted in a case of CJD, officials say.

As a precaution, the American Red Cross restricts blood donation from people who have lived in the United Kingdom for three or more months from 1980 to present, as well as from people who have lived a year or more in continental Europe from 1980 to present.