The Food and Drug Administration has announced, that it found unidentified contaminant  in batches of the active ingredient used in Baxter International Inc.'s recalled blood thinner heparin, as the agency sharply increased its count of the deaths potentially tied to the drug.

The drug is being investigated after reported bad reactions in hundreds of patients.

As per the Agency,  FDA officials said 19 fatality reports, up from a previous tally of four, now appear to match the allergic-type and low blood-pressure reactions that have been the main focus of safety concerns. It wasn't clear how many of the 19 people took the Baxter product. The deaths occurred since Jan. 1, 2007, but the FDA only received the reports in the past three months and also said the contaminant was found in the active ingredient from Baxter's supplier, Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC, and it was present in large quantities.