Apparently the Dubs are excited about a news story circulating around about artificial blood. I have received 2 e mails containing the following...
19/06/2001 12:13 - (SA)
Fake blood to flow soon in US
Los Angeles - The dream of the medical
industry to create artificial blood that would be universally compatible and
readily available is about to be realized, according to a report on Monday
in the Los Angeles Times.
The report quoted experts as saying that the so-called fake blood could hit
the market within two years, easing the blood shortage, saving lives during
medical emergencies and further reducing the potential dangers from
infectious diseases carried by donor blood.
The paper said that in the US alone more than a half-dozen blood substitute
products are in development with some well advanced in the preclinical
phase. The first application for FDA approval is expected sometime this
summer.
The fake blood will not be able to replace the real thing however. It can
only perform the job of red blood cells, and does not last long in the body.
But it could prove invaluable during emergencies, preventing
life-threatening shock, a sudden, precipitous drop in blood flow that
deprives the body of oxygen; on the battlefield; in those who refuse
transfused blood, such as Jehovah's Witnesses; and in patients with such
blood incompatibilities as sickle cell anemia.
"The field is really at a very advanced stage, the last stages of
development," Abdu I Alayash, who heads the research programme on blood
substitutes for the Food and Drug Administration, was quoted as saying.
"There is a real excitement."
Unlike donated blood, artificial blood has a longer shelf life, is unlikely
to be tainted with infectious agents, can be stored at room temperature and
doesn't need to be matched to a recipient's blood type