14 DAY TRIAL // On May 14, a woman in the UK passed away while in intensive care at the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham. She had been taken to this hospital after having collapsed on the stairs at her home in Tamworth.
Her parents now say that what killed her was a contraceptive pill that 21-year-old Fallan Kurek had started taking about 25 days prior to her death.
More precisely, they claim that the contraceptive pill, identified as Rigevidon, caused her to develop a pulmonary embolism. Deprived of oxygen, young Fallan Kurek passed away in just a few days.
The woman started feeling ill days before her death
21-year-old Fallan Kurek's mother, Julia Kurek, says that her daughter only went on the pill to regulate her menstrual cycle. The doctor who prescribed her Rigevidon told her to take the contraceptive pill for three months straight.
A few days before her unexpected death, the young woman started complaining about running short of breath for no good reason and experiencing pains in her legs and ribs.
She went to see a doctor but was told that she had nothing to worry about and so continued to take the pill. On May 11, however, her lungs gave out and she collapsed without warning. She was rushed to the Good Hope Hospital.
Here, she was put in intensive care. Three days later, however, the doctors monitoring Fallan Kurek declared her brain-dead and her family agreed to take her off life support.
Her parents insist that, after their daughter's death, medical experts approached them and told them that the most likely cause of death was a pulmonary embolism due to the contraceptive pill the 21-year-old had been taking for nearly a month.
“We felt angry when they first mentioned it could be the pill, she was only on it to regulate her periods. It should say it on the pack - that they can kill - and the label,” the girl's mother said in an interview, as cited by Mirror.
Health officials insist the pill is perfectly safe
An investigation into the circumstances that led to 21-year-old Fallan Kurek's death is now ongoing. Meanwhile, health officials insist that the contraceptive pill is perfectly safe and women have no good reason to stop taking it.
All things considered, chances are that Fallan Kurek had some underlying medical condition that made her vulnerable to the pill she had been prescribed. Then again, it might not have been the contraceptive that killed her, say Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency officials.
As for the company that makes Rigevidon, Hungary-based biotechnology and pharmaceutical Gideon Richter, it has not yet made any comments on the unexpected death of young Fallan Kurek.
