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Showing posts with the label hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers

THE REAL VALUE OF BLOOD

THE VALUE OF BLOOD                     .   The conventional symbol of blood is red, and this generally signifies the danger that might follow the spilling of blood through accident or violence. The red flag of revolutionaries is purported to be symbolic of the blood spilled by heroes during popular uprisings.   Scientifically, blood is the agent that carries the vitalizing agent oxygen to all tissues of the body, and carries carbon dioxide from the tissues for excretion in the lungs. Blood is given to hospital patients in order that they may not die from excessive bleeding or from severe anemia.   Such is the value and importance of blood to all animal and human life that this list could continue indefinitely. Yet all such value and significance can be attributed mainly to tiny particles in blood –the red blood cells.   They are so minute that they cannot be seen by the naked eye and yet no

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE: IS ITS FUTURE SECURE?

                         “Transfusion medicine will continue to be a little like walking through a tropical rainforest, where the known paths are clear but still require careful navigation, and new and unseen threats may still lurk around the next corner to trap the unwary.” –Ian M. Franklin, professor of transfusion medicine. After the worldwide AIDS epidemic cast the spotlight on blood in the 1980’s, efforts to eliminate its “unseen threats” intensified. Still, huge obstacles remain. In June 2005, the World Health Organization acknowledged: “The chance of receiving a safe transfusion … varies enormously from one country to another.” Why? In many lands there are no nationally coordinated programs to ensure safety standards for the collection, testing, and transport of blood and blood products. Sometimes blood supplies are even stored dangerously –in poorly maintained domestic refrigerators and picnic boxes! Without safety standards in place, patients can be adversely