Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration have recommended a ban on blood donations from those with chronic fatigue syndrome (WSJ).

The recommendation, decided by a 9-4 vote during yesterday’s meeting of the Blood Products Advisory Committee, comes as the FDA wrestles with how to handle conflicting results regarding a possible link between chronic fatigue syndrome and murine leukemia viruses, a group of viruses that includes ‘xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus’, best known as XMRV. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has commissioned a task force to settle the controversy by developing standardized laboratory assays for XMRV and related viruses, and then testing those assays in multiple labs and on a variety of samples (WSJ).

In the meantime, however, regulators must decide whether XMRV poses a risk to the US blood supply. Although the FDA often follows the guidance offered by its advisory panels, it has not announced when it will reach a final decision on the matter. The American Red Cross has already decided not to wait for that decision: earlier this month the organization announced that it would no longer accept blood from donors with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Photo: National Institutes of Health