Tannishblog

Raw Story has a scoop about a program championed by Illinois' Dick Durban (D) allowing 27 cities across the nation to administer manufactured blood substitute to trauma patients without their knowledge. Loyola University Hospital, near my hometown, is on the government's list of approved suppliers.

After recovering from my initial squeamishness, I ponder that our nation has a prolonged deficit of blood donors resulting in a shortage of blood. Combine the logistics of storage and distribution of the stuff, and we see a real potential problem.

Fake blood, if it works, can be a viable answer to saving many lives, most especially our injured soldiers, who need all the help they can get. But the previous trials were failures, and the a web site run by UCSC, one of the participating hospitals lists the following pros and cons:

What are the potential benefits of participating in the study?

• PolyHeme® may increase the likelihood of survival after traumatic injury.

• Patients might avoid the risks of blood transfusion.

• Patients might avoid a reduction in the function of internal organs that sometimes follows blood transfusion.

• This study may help patients in the future.

What are the potential risks of participating in the study?

• Rash

• Temporary, non-life-threatening increase in blood pressure

• Transmission of hepatitis and HIV viruses

• Kidney or liver damage with some resulting loss of kidney or liver function has occurred in patients who received other free hemoglobin products, but so far has not been found in patients who received PolyHeme®, however there is a potential risk that this may occur with PolyHeme® also.

• Unforeseen happenings

Unforeseen Happenings: like turning them into Zombie Cyborgs, or something…

What bothers me is the patients will be unaware of receiving the synthetic substance. Granted, trauma patients aren't usually capable of making decisions in times of need. Likely their families are in a state of shock or stress, and the delay caused by paperwork red tape could literally kill the patient. Reality dictates that there isn't time for such details in trauma cases. Still, it rankles.

In the lengthening list of what constitutes progress and of which technologies advance civilization and improve quality of life, this may make it's mark. It surely has promise. I can't help wondering., however, if Christian Extremists will ban the substance because modern medicine is "trying to play God."

For both the clinical trials and the public reaction, only time will tell.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 7th, 2006 at 11:54 am and is filed under In the News, 21st Century Culture, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.