Heparin
Heparin is made from the intestinal lining of pigs. This is the medicine itself, not an added ingredient. Today, every US version is made from pig-derived material. That could change: regulators have discussed reintroducing heparin from other animal sources. This page is dated.
What this means
Heparin is a blood thinner; it slows the blood from clotting. There is no plant or synthetic form of heparin itself. A synthetic anticoagulant, fondaparinux, is a different medicine with different dosing and monitoring. Heparin is often given in a hospital, where you may not choose the product. Your doctor and pharmacist decide care. Your scholar decides permissibility. Talk to your doctor about your treatment.
Same class: Enoxaparin and Dalteparin.
- Keep taking it exactly as prescribed, and do not stop it without your prescriber.
- Tell your doctor the source matters to you, and ask whether a non-animal option is medically appropriate.
- Bring this to a scholar you trust. Scholars have spoken about needed medicines when there is no other choice.
This answered your Heparin question. What about your other medications?
Heparin is animal-derived in the medicine itself, so the answer is the same whoever makes it. Most medications are different: the animal ingredient is a hidden one, like the gelatin in a capsule or a coating, and its source changes depending on which manufacturer made your bottle. The label never says which.
A licensed pharmacist asks the manufacturer of your exact medication, in writing, and reports the stated source. Check one of your medications →