Bayer’s overseas sale of higher-risk hemophilia treatments

The history of blood products during the AIDS crisis contains a disturbing account involving hemophilia treatments sold in different parts of the world. According to the reported account, a division of Bayer sold millions of dollars worth of blood clotting medicine in Asia and Latin America during the mid 1980s, even though the product was described as carrying a high risk of transmitting AIDS.

What makes the account particularly striking is the timing. Around the same period, a newer and safer version of the treatment was reportedly being marketed in Western countries. That created a stark distinction between the products being sold to different markets, with the older, higher risk concentrate continuing to be distributed overseas while the newer alternative was available elsewhere.

The excerpt does not provide the full details behind the company's decisions, the number of people affected, or any subsequent legal or medical findings, so those claims need to remain within the context of the original reporting. Even with those limits, the episode stands out because of the combination of a deadly emerging disease, blood products used by people with hemophilia, millions of dollars in overseas sales and the reported difference between what was being supplied abroad and what was being marketed in Western countries.