Biker! Happy Blood Transfusion Day!
World War II Russian syringe for direct inter-human blood transfusion
Biker! on this day in 1666 - Samuel Pepys reports on 1st blood transfusion (between dogs).
Beginning with Harvey's experiments with circulation of the blood, research into blood transfusion began in the 17th century, with successful experiments in transfusion between animals. However, successive attempts by physicians to transfuse animal blood into humans gave variable, often fatal, results.
The first fully documented human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, eminent physician to King Louis XIV of France, on June 15, 1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-year-old boy, who survived the transfusion. Denys performed another transfusion into a labourer, who also survived. Both instances were likely due to the small amount of blood that was actually transfused into these people. This allowed them to withstand the allergic reaction. Denys' third patient to undergo a blood transfusion was Swedish Baron Gustaf Bonde. He received two transfusions. After the second transfusion Bonde died. In the winter of 1667, Denys performed several transfusions on Antoine Mauroy with calf's blood, who on the third account died. Much controversy surrounded his death. Mauroy's wife asserted Denys was responsible for her husband's death; she was accused as well, though it was later determined that Mauroy actually died from arsenic poisoning, Denys' experiments with animal blood provoked a heated controversy in France. Finally, in 1670 the procedure was banned. In time, the British Parliament and the Vatican followed suit. Blood transfusions fell into obscurity for the next 150 years.
Blood transfusion is generally the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.
Units of packed red blood cells are typically only recommended when a patient's either haemoglobin level falls below 10g/dL or haematocrit falls below 30%, hence in several settings this level is being decreased to 7g/dL. This is in part due to the increasing evidence that there are cases where patients have worse outcomes when transfused One may consider transfusion for people with symptoms of cardiovascular disease such as chest pain or shortness of breath. Globally around 85 million units of red blood cells are transfused in a given year. In cases where patients have low levels of haemoglobin but are cardiovascularly stable, parenteral iron is increasingly a preferred option based on both efficacy and safety. Other blood products are given where appropriate, such as clotting deficiencies.
When a patient's own blood is salvaged and reinfused during a surgery (e.g. using a cell salvage machine such as a Cell Saver), this can be considered a form of auto transfusion (and thus a form of transfusion) even though no "blood product" is actually created. Before this was possible, auto transfusion had referred only to pre-donating one's own blood autologously, which still occurs as well.
World War II Russian syringe for direct inter-human blood transfusion
Biker! on this day in 1666 - Samuel Pepys reports on 1st blood transfusion (between dogs).
Beginning with Harvey's experiments with circulation of the blood, research into blood transfusion began in the 17th century, with successful experiments in transfusion between animals. However, successive attempts by physicians to transfuse animal blood into humans gave variable, often fatal, results.
The first fully documented human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, eminent physician to King Louis XIV of France, on June 15, 1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-year-old boy, who survived the transfusion. Denys performed another transfusion into a labourer, who also survived. Both instances were likely due to the small amount of blood that was actually transfused into these people. This allowed them to withstand the allergic reaction. Denys' third patient to undergo a blood transfusion was Swedish Baron Gustaf Bonde. He received two transfusions. After the second transfusion Bonde died. In the winter of 1667, Denys performed several transfusions on Antoine Mauroy with calf's blood, who on the third account died. Much controversy surrounded his death. Mauroy's wife asserted Denys was responsible for her husband's death; she was accused as well, though it was later determined that Mauroy actually died from arsenic poisoning, Denys' experiments with animal blood provoked a heated controversy in France. Finally, in 1670 the procedure was banned. In time, the British Parliament and the Vatican followed suit. Blood transfusions fell into obscurity for the next 150 years.
Blood transfusion is generally the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.
Units of packed red blood cells are typically only recommended when a patient's either haemoglobin level falls below 10g/dL or haematocrit falls below 30%, hence in several settings this level is being decreased to 7g/dL. This is in part due to the increasing evidence that there are cases where patients have worse outcomes when transfused One may consider transfusion for people with symptoms of cardiovascular disease such as chest pain or shortness of breath. Globally around 85 million units of red blood cells are transfused in a given year. In cases where patients have low levels of haemoglobin but are cardiovascularly stable, parenteral iron is increasingly a preferred option based on both efficacy and safety. Other blood products are given where appropriate, such as clotting deficiencies.
When a patient's own blood is salvaged and reinfused during a surgery (e.g. using a cell salvage machine such as a Cell Saver), this can be considered a form of auto transfusion (and thus a form of transfusion) even though no "blood product" is actually created. Before this was possible, auto transfusion had referred only to pre-donating one's own blood autologously, which still occurs as well.
