Foreign body found in human insuli

​Hyderabad: In an alarming incident, a patient who purchased two boxes of insulin (mixtard 30 flex pen) on February 28 was in for a surprise when he opened the box on Saturday to find a human hair like substance in it. Several attempts to contact the manufacturers proved futile. Jashwant, a resident of Alwal placed an order on MedPlus website for two boxes of human insulin. He was informed to collect the boxes from a MedPlus store close to his residence.

Fearing that there could be side effects, Jashwant did not use the product but has not been able to get a replacement. Dr Dilip Nandamuri, diabetologist, says, “Usually people do not use insulin if they notice a foreign body but if one still goes ahead and uses it, it could lead to allergy and other complications.”

This is not the first time that a foreign body was found in insulin. Another resident of Gudimalkapur had complained of a black substance floating in the insulin and it took him a fortnight to get a replacement.

A patient has to complain to the State Drug Control Administration but it may take months before a logical end to the complaint takes place. Jashwant says, “I tried several times to contact Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of the product but no one responded.”

Medical store owners too say that in such cases they replace the product subject to its availability or supply the product when new stock arrives. Suman Gupta who runs a medical store in Sultan bazaar says, “Consumers should immediately report to the State Drug Control Administration.”