Manufacturing fault prompts BD to recall blood collection tubes

Becton Dickinson‘s (NYSE: BDX) life sciences division issued a recall last month for some of its blood collection tubes, citing a manufacturing flaw that resulted in devices without sufficient additive.

The company explained that an internal investigation found that Vacutainer Citrate Plus tubes with too little additive led to falsely-shortened clotting time and could impact patient therapy.

Nearly 1,700 of the 2,094,000 blood tubes in lot number 7298982 could be impacted by the manufacturing problem, BD estimated. In a recall notice posted today, the company cautioned providers stop using the affected products immediately and to quarantine all stock as soon as possible.

Earlier this year, BD reported that studies conducted by the company found that a chemical present in its Vacutainer blood collection tubes interfered with lead tests made by Magellan Diagnostics.

The FDA first warned consumers in May of 2017 that Magellan’s lead tests may provide inaccurate results when used with blood drawn from the vein and held in BD’s blood collection tubes. In March, the U.S. regulatory watchdog reported that BD uncovered the chemical explanation for why its tubes were linked to false results with Magellan’s LeadCare tests.

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