Jammed: Full into Capacity

Scientists continue to find ways to deliver better health care to patients; one new innovation is the availability of artificial blood, so called because it is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like hemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body. This new discovery could help to substitute for blood, which is not always readily available in cases of emergencies, especially pointed out was its huge advantage in war zones.

Besides its storage advantage; it is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool, it can be sterilized, and can be kept for longer, the new artificial blood has its advantages over human blood as pointed out in this WikiPedia article.

1. Donations are increasing by about 2-3% annually in the United States, but demand is climbing by between 6-8% as an aging population requires more operations that often involve blood transfusion.

2. Although the blood supply in the US is very safe, this is not the case for all regions of the world. Blood transfusion is the second largest source of new HIV infections in Nigeria. In certain regions of South Africa as much as 40% of the population has HIV/AIDS, and thorough testing is not financially feasible. A disease-free source of blood substitutes would be incredibly beneficial in these regions.

3. In battlefield scenarios it is often impossible to administer rapid blood transfusions. Medical care in the armed services would benefit from a safe, easy way to manage blood supply.

4. Great benefit could be derived from the rapid treatment of patients in trauma situations. Because these blood substitutes do not contain any of the antigens that determine blood type, they can be used across all types without immunologic reactions.

5. While it is true that receiving a unit of transfused blood in the US does not carry many risks, with only 10 to 20 deaths per million units, but blood substitutes could eventually improve on this. There is no practical way to test for prion transmitted diseases in donated blood, such as Mad Cow and Cruetzfeld-Jacob disease, and other disease could emerge as problems for the blood supply, including Smallpox and SARS.

6. Transfused blood is currently more cost effective, but there are reasons to believe this may change. For example the cost of blood substitutes may fall as manufacturing becomes refined.

7. Blood substitutes can be stored for much longer than transfused blood, and can be kept at room temperature. Most hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers in trials today carry a shelf life of between 1 and 3 years, compared to 42 days for donated blood, which needs to be kept refrigerated.

8. Blood substitutes allow for immediate full capacity oxygen transport, as opposed to transfused blood which can require about 24 hours to reach full oxygen transport capacity due to 2,3-diphosphoglycerate depletion.

However, these advantages do not guarantee of a problem-free transfusion. This blood replacement products can interfere with blood tests, are more quickly removed from the body, and are less efficient oxygen carriers. Their use, once approved, will probably be limited to emergencies involving severe blood loss caused by serious accidents.

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