Blood Transfusions Are Becoming More And More Common

As expected, with war comes extensive injuries. During WWI, it took a wounded soldier about 24 hours to travel from the battlefield to a hospital. Many times, the soldiers did not live through that excruciating 24 hours. The wounds inflicted on many soldiers led to the development of new medical techniques and improvements (iWonder 2015). The quickly rising death toll during WWI led to the creation of blood transfusion techniques. Prior to WWI, blood transfusions were nearly impossible without cross-matching blood types. An article published by Medical History argues that, “Though the technique (blood transfusions) caused several deaths, it did save dozens of other men, proving its lifesaving

The market of human blood transfusions is broken down into different uses: Elective Surgery, Emergency Surgery and Trauma. However, Hemopure seems to be suitable only for trauma cases due to its characteristics and, again, high price. To understand the reason, it is important to notice that, actually, only 10% of the 500,000 trauma victims receives RBCs “in the field” or at the site of accident, and the remaining 95% of these people does not receive transfusions until they arrive at the hospital. This delay was often cited as a major factor to the 20,000 trauma deaths. Therefore, since the expected market share for Biopure is 25% and assuming that the total blood transfusions remain stable, the potential market size for Hemopure is approximately $350,000,000. This size is based on an average price of $700 multiplied by 2,000,000 units (around 4 blood units are needed for each Trauma case).

Plasma is used to keep a healthy blood pressure, supplying proteins for blood clotting and immunity, and serves as the medium for the exchange of vital minerals. It is attained by separating the liquid part of the blood from the cells. Dr. Charles Drew set up a blood plasma system in 1938; he set up a blood bank at Columbia Medical Center by 1939. Drew then discovered that plasma could replace whole blood; this discovery played a huge role during the war in places with severe atrocities. Blood was in high demand in 1940 as war raged across Europe. The International Transfusion Association chose Dr. Drew to organize the Blood for Britain project. This project collected, processed, and transported 14,500 units of plasma within five months. The research of Dr. Drew transformed plasma transfusion so plasma could be given on the battlefield immediately. Dr. Drew was appointed Director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank in February 1941. This plasma collection and preservation program is a model for today’s blood donation organizations. When the program ended in September 1945, the American Red Cross had gathered over 13 million units of blood and transformed most of it into plasma. By the end of the war, 1.3 million plasma units were returned to the American Red Cross, which were given to civilian hospitals (World War

successful transfusion of human blood. He performed this act to a patient for the treatment of

Bloodletting, known as phlebotomy in the medical world, imitates to some degree the violent blood loss of the European Vikings. As explained earlier, the loss of nutrition through bloodloss was balanced out by the mutation, hemochromatosis. Now, hemochromatic people do the opposite and balance high iron levels with bloodletting. The process of bloodletting can be done several ways, obviously much more differently and safer than in the past. The author of Survival of the Sickest, Dr. Sharon Maulem, chooses to donate blood on the regular to balance his iron levels, similar to his grandfather who was also

There appears to be a significant movement within the medical community to minimize or eliminate blood transfusions during surgery. 20,21,22 The group: Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood " describe themselves as

Some reasons someone would need a blood transfusion are through chemotherapy, low blood counts, kidney disease, blood cancer patients, and excesses bleeding.

In a publication of the Stanford University School of Medicine, held an article entitled “Against the Flow—What’s Behind the Decline in Blood Transfusions?” The author of that article, Sarah C. P. Williams, stated: “Over the past decade, a growing body of research has revealed that in hospitals around the world, donated blood is used more often, and in larger quantities, than is needed to help patients—both in operating rooms and hospital

It provides support with transfusions for patients aged Advanced not able to receive a drug therapy.

Since there is a severe blood loss, a blood transfusion should be considered when life-threaten, which need a blood test to get the correct blood type of the patient first. However, due to the patient’s belief in such a case, that the patient is not competent to make an informed decision and there is no immediately contactable family or friends, the medical practitioner can treat the patient according to a professional judgment of the patient’s best interests (Legal and Regulatory Services.2005.), or discuss possible treatment options with Hospital Liaison Committee (Australian Red Cross Blood

There are many ways in which the current blood donation policy is inadequate. From a medical perspective, there are better indicators

There are so many people in this world today that are diagnosed with blood disorders, and other cancerous diseases. Along these terrible diseases comes a long, painful journey of treatments, like bone marrow transplants. But, bone marrow transplants aren’t the only transplants in this world now. “In the outstanding findings of 1980 an estimation of more than 130 million infants are born, and umbilical cord blood (UCB) is known to be the most abundant reservoir of hematopoietic cells for many clinical applications.” (Waller-Wise R.)

Blood transfusions can be a life-sustaining medical procedure; yet its significance has been neglected. Like many procedures, the risk of potentially harmful complications are vast, however in healthcare the consequence of a mistake is death. For instance, when an acute hemolytic reaction can occur when a patient receives incompatible blood. The symptoms of which include pain, chills, fever, tachycardia, hypotension, and even renal failure (Kessler, 2013). Human error has required hospitals to implement specific protocols which aim to prevent errors and reduce the likelihood of harmful complications. These protocols consist of many "rights", which ensure correct identity and blood product. Nurses are responsible for the final bedside check

Blood transfusions in and of themselves are often used to prevent medical conditions from getting worse. In the eyes of many medical professionals, blood transfusions are a viable and standardized medical procedure to transfer the blood from one patient to another. Many individuals owe their lives to blood transfusions and would certainly not risk going without one depending on their circumstance. Where some see blood transfusions being a benefit to overall health, others may see it as a threat. In particular, Jehovah’s Witnesses are unable to receive blood transfusions as it is strictly prohibited in their religion. However, what does one do when religious values, enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, goes up against the sanctity of life? Which values prevail, and what are the risks associated with allowing one right to prevail over another? This essay will posit that, while a Jehovah’s Witness has a right to refuse medical treatment, that decision should not effect a child’s position in determining whether or not they should receive medical attention given the state of a child’s inability to fully comprehend the consequences to life altering decisions. In examining the risks associated, patient autonomy will be examined against potential health risks of refusing treatment. It will be shown how there are many actors involved in the process ranging from doctors and patients, to courts and legislation, and even the general public. Next, the tools used in

Just imagine if one of your brothers or sisters was born with a heart defect and had to have daily transfusions of blood in order to have a chance of survival. Unfortunately, things happen like this everyday and some of you may have experienced them already. In this essay I am going to persuade you to become a blood donor. I try to donate blood every two months or so because it makes me feel like I am doing something good and saving people’s lives. Do you know that 95% of all Americans will need a blood transfusion sometime in our lives (Red Cross web site)? That statistic means that there is a possibility that you, and your family and friends could need support from volunteer blood donors. In this essay I will discuss the need for blood donations, solutions that can increase blood donations, and actions that need to be taken to increase blood donations.