Category: Blood
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Bad blood: The drama of bloodshed
Emily BoyleDublin, Ireland In some professions, bloodstained clothing is a normal part of the job. The two jobs that come to mind principally are a butcher and a vascular surgeon, although the latter would probably prefer not to be associated with the former! In vascular surgery not every operation results in bloodstained scrubs, although for…
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The smartest vampire story
Alice TheibaultRochester, New York, United States There is something uniquely terrifying about vampires. The concept of a nocturnal creature showing up at one’s home to suck their blood is enough to make just about anyone uneasy, and so vampires have been mined as a horror device for generations. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which is arguably the…
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Hereditary blood disorders in blue-blood aristocrats
N. Reece Ho-SheffieldSingapore Famous people with genetic disorders have always been a subject of interest, and royalty are often considered the crème de la crème of celebrities. Any medical condition may give some insight into their lives and provide an explanation for a physical feature or behavior. Two genetic blood diseases plagued the European Royals.…
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Red Cross humanitarianism and female volunteers in Australia
Ian WillisCamden, NSW, Austalia “There were a lot of people who had lost everything,” said Australian Red Cross volunteer Tracey Ayrton, who has been providing comfort to bushfire victims at the Laurieton evacuation centre in northern New South Wales. Tracey, who has taken time off work, has been volunteering for over ten years. She says,…
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The past and future of blood banking
Eva Kitri Mutch StoddartSaigon, Vietnam Blood oozes allure. The elixir of life, viscous and dramatic scarlet, courses through the veins of every living human. Blood has been viewed as sacred for centuries. Aristocrats used to sip at it to stoke their youth and vitality. Bram Stoker’s quintessential vampire novel, the revered Dracula, was published in…
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Diamond-Blackfan anemia and tap shoes
Jill PurteeSurprise, Arizona, United States Forty years ago I worked in a four-bed pediatric intensive care unit nestled in the pediatric ward. Every few weeks amongst the beeps and alarms, I heard the clicking of tap shoes coming down the pediatric ward hallway. My morning hug from Alma, a young girl with Diamond-Blackfan anemia, followed…
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Only blood
Anthony ChiocchiNew York, New York, United States I remember my first nosebleed. It was the late eighties and I was at the age where it was still permissible for me to sleep on the floor of my parent’s bedroom. Ostensibly this was due to their superior air conditioner, but in truth I was afraid of…