Tag: blood transfusion
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The sight of blood
Joanne JacobsonNew York, New York, United States None of us live to adulthood without seeing our own blood—growing up, I witnessed my blood flow free of my body too many times to count. The bleeding knee picked clean of leaves and gravel after my father sent me spinning down the driveway on my birthday bike;…
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Alternatives to blood transfusion
Geraldine MillerLiverpool, England In 1616 William Harvey first discovered how blood circulates around the body. This discovery stimulated research into transfusing blood from one person to another. Early attempts to replace blood began with liquids such as milk, both animal and human, urine, and beer. Sir Christopher Wren in the seventeenth century even suggested opium…
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A real world of not-so-real blood
Kelsey RuudSpokane, Washington, United States Sarah Smith* thought today would be like any other day. She would take her kids to school, then go to her job as an office secretary. But Sarah never made it. Passing through an intersection, Sarah’s car was hit when another driver ran a red light. Paramedics arrived at the…
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Spherocytosis
Andrea LolloNew York, New York, United States “Hereditary spherocytosis is a common inherited disorder that is characterised by anaemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly.”1 It was odd, of course, for a ten-year-old to have gallstones. It was even stranger for me to miss a full week of summer camp to sleep on the couch, swimming in and…
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The Fantus clinic and the blood bank of Chicago
There was an old four-story building on the campus of Cook County Hospital that had long served as its outpatient department. It had on each floor crowded clinics where patients waited long on hard benches to be seen. It had clinics for high blood pressure, where pills were prescribed, but not necessarily taken; clinics for…
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Ought to kill or ought to heal? The importance of medicine in the history of warfare
Erick ScherfSanta Catarina, Brazil All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.—Alexis de Tocqueville War has been written about since the beginning of human history. It was notably recorded by Thucydides in his account of the Peloponnesian…
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Transfusion reactions hidden from history
Philip CrispinAustralian Capital Territory Dr. James Blundell (1790–1878) was the first to transfuse blood from one human to another, with variable success. At the forefront of transfusion, he also played a role too in understanding transfusion reactions. He completed his medical degree in Edinburgh, then trained under his uncle, Dr. Haighton, whom he later succeeded…
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Medical and scientific innovations arising from warfare
Brian OmondiNairobi, Kenya Perhaps the only bright side of war is that it impels nations to make medical and scientific innovations. War has long been portrayed as being the best school for surgeons and even for doctors.1 An association between medical services and the military can be traced back to ancient Greece, and the link has…