Millions of birth control patch users in America could be at risk for life-threatening side effects, according to research conducted by The Associated Press.

About a dozen women, most in their late teens and early 20s, died last year from blood clots believed to be related to the birth control patch. Dozens more survived strokes and other clot-related problems, according to federal drug safety reports obtained by the AP.

The women who died were young and apparently at low risk for clots - women like the 18-year-old student and 25-year-old mother who both died within the last year.

Olin Health Center Director Glynda Moorer said MSU students seeking convenient contraceptive methods often request the patch.

"It's pretty popular," she said. "Women do like it because they see it as easily reversible and don't have to remember to take the pill every day."

Dietetics junior Ayodele Webb said she's known about 12 people who have used the patch and only one told her they experienced mild adverse effects.

"She was getting a rash from the adhesive, but other than that, she was fine," Webb said. "She just went onto another method."

But other women said they've heard of more serious health problems related to the patch.

Human biology senior Julie Kozlowski said her roommate was on the patch for about a year, but had to seek several doctors and specialists concerning health issues associated with using it.

"She was having a lot of really bad headaches and had to see a lot of doctors," she said. "She went to see a neurological specialist and they could only trace it back to the patch."

Kozlowski said her roommate also experienced double vision and side blindness, but symptoms disappeared when she switched back to using the birth control pill - a method she originally veered away from out of convenience.

Lori Lamerand, president of Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance, said the center explains to women what health risks are involved with any form of prescription contraceptive.

The reports obtained by the AP appear to indicate that in 2004, when 800,000 women were on the patch, the risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the device was about three times higher than while using birth control pills.

Dr. Katherine LaGuardia, a director at Ortho McNeil, said none of the deaths can be directly attributed to the patch.

Blood clots are an accepted risk from hormonal birth control because estrogen promotes blood coagulation. Clots usually form in the legs, and become serious problems if they travel to a woman's heart, lungs or brain.

Before the patch was approved, the Food and Drug Administration had already noticed nonfatal blood clots from the patch were three times that of the pill.

Although the estrogen levels are similar in the patch and the pill, the hormones in a pill must be processed through the intestinal tract before they enter the blood stream. Hormones in the patch go directly into the bloodstream.

Though the FDA and patch-maker Ortho McNeil saw warning signs of possible problems with the patch, both maintain that the patch is as safe as the pill.

Others said that all forms of contraception have risks involved.

"It makes me not want to use it," graphic design senior Jessica Berry said.

Staff writers Maggie Lillis and Amy Davis contributed to this report.