A customer is using TikTok to force Shein and FedEx to explain how they allowed a vial of human blood and a can of Goya beans to be added to her online order.
in a series of viral tiktok Viewed more than 7.5 million timesShein customer Anna Marie said she received an unlabeled vial of blood from a testing lab when she ordered clothing on Monday. Shocked, she contacted Shein, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Exact Sciences, the testing agency associated with the vial. She also contacted the local health department and police.
Human blood is considered biohazard Because it contains disease-causing agents, it can be transmitted to individuals and cause them to develop diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.Experts recommend Transport blood samples in two containers Or bags with absorbent material.
Annemarie said she was Told by Exact Science The blood in the vial is used for cancer screening and does not contain any disease.
“The reason it’s creepy is because the lab confirmed it was a glass bottle, so we all wanted to know, could the beans break the glass bottle and expose me to something? I don’t know,” she said. It was just blood from one person’s cancer screening. We verified it wasn’t the blood of anyone with hepatitis or AIDS or anything we had access to, but it was still another person’s blood. I didn’t want to touch it.”
Dr. Ryan Marino Emergency Room Physicians and Toxicologists, told Gizmodo that assuming the tubes are airtight, the risk of disease transmission is low. However, the incident is alarming. He said this was “likely indicative of significant issues in the handling/handling of biospecimens that may be more risky than throwing away a hair-sealed tube of blood”.
Exact Sciences confirmed to Gizmodo that Anna Marie did receive one of their vials in an email on Friday, saying it “takes safety, quality and privacy very seriously.” Spokeswoman Lindsey Dickinson said Exact Sciences is working with the shipping company to find out how the vial ended up in Anna Marie’s Shein shipment.
As for Shein’s involvement in the incident, Anna Marie said the company has contacted her and put her on the phone spoke with a senior executive at the company’s Los Angeles facility. Shein’s executives told her the company reviewed footage from the factory and saw employees putting her purchases into FedEx packages. According to Shein, there were no vials of blood or cans of beans.
Anna Marie also tried to contact FedEx, but said in TikTok that the shipping company Not yet provided Helped her, “basically let me down and was very rude to me”.
Shein reiterated in a statement to Gizmodo on Friday that Annamarie’s package did not contain additional items when it left its facility.
“When we learned that a package received by a customer had been tampered with, we immediately launched an investigation. This revealed that when the package completed our quality control process and left our facility, it contained only the SHEIN items ordered,” a Shein spokesperson said in a statement. stated in an email. “We will continue to actively support the customer as she continues to investigate what happened to her package after it left SHEIN’s facility.”
FedEx apologized for Annamarie’s experience in a statement to Gizmodo on Friday but did not provide specific details. The company said it was “taking appropriate steps to resolve the matter.”
Annemarie said on TikTok on Thursday that she is healthy and doing well. Going forward, she said she will wear gloves when opening packages and advised others to be cautious as well.
“More than a few people commented, ‘Why don’t you wear gloves?’ and ‘Why did you order from Shein?’ “When I order an innocent dress suit, I don’t usually wear gloves. I can assure you that I will be doing that from now on,” says Annamarie. “I order from Shein because it [offers] Great clothes…will I order from them again? Doubt this. “
Updated March 15, 2024 at 3:15 pm ET: This article has been updated with additional comments from Exact Sciences.
Updated March 15, 2024 at 6:54 pm ET: This article has been updated with additional comments from Dr. Ryan Marino and FedEx.