Cow's blood saves life of crash victim in world first procedure

[sianrose]

Cow's blood saves life of crash victim in world first procedure

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By DAVID GARDNER | DailyMail.co.uk

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Doctors have saved the life of a woman car crash victim with the first ever use of cow’s blood.

Tamara Coakley, 33, rejected a life-saving conventional blood transfusion because of her Jehovah’s Witness faith despite being close to death.

But in a world’s first procedure, a synthetic blood substitute made from cow plasma was used to revive the patient just as her heart was failing through severe blood loss.

The success of the procedure could help combat the worldwide blood supply shortage.

Mrs Coakley’s religion permits the use of blood substitutes and doctors in Melbourne, Australia, flew in ten unites of the haemoglobin- based experimental plasma – called HBOC-2-1 – from the United States where it is being developed by the military.

The cow’s blood product was painstakingly administered over two days to Mrs Coakley, who had been in a medically-induced coma following a horrific car collision last October.

After a few close calls, including a bout of pneumonia, the patient’s haemoglobin levels more than doubled.

Mrs Coakley was overwhelmed by the lengths doctors went to save her life and respect her personal choices.

‘I’m glad something positive could come out of it. They did everything they could. I am so grateful for that,’ she said.

Unlike donor blood, it does not require crossmatching and can be stored without refrigeration for up to three years.

‘It’s a bit of science fiction,’ said Associate Professor Mark Fitzgerald, of The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. ‘Currently only one in 30 people give blood, but one in three will need it.’

Article Source: DailyMail.co.uk

Anyone know about this.... would this be synthetic blood derived from cows blood ???

[Willow]

There is an AWAKE article about "hemoglobin based oxygen carriers" (HBOC) from 2006 that explains this. (Wasn't sure if it is alright to paste in excerpt from W.T. Library article?) It is processed hemoglobin taken from cow's blood (in some cases, they use human). The article cautions that, compared with other blood fractions, it presents more challenges to our conscience due to, #1) HBOC carry out a primary function of a major component of blood - the red blood cells and, #2) it comes from hemoglobin which makes up a large part (about 1/3) of the red blood cell. (At the time of the article's writing, it wasn't approved for use in most places.)

AWAKE 8/06 p. 11 The Real Value of Blood

[trottigy]

Willow, and it is good to have you.

This is from our Member Policy - you can find it at the top of the front page,

Do not post entire articles from or upload our publications to the forums.

So, it is OK to post the pertinent paragraph from an article - even bolding the part that you want to stand out, we don't want the whole article. When you do quote and article please list the source - just like you did.

Some manufacturers now process hemoglobin, releasing it from human or bovine red blood cells. The extracted hemoglobin is then filtered to remove impurities, chemically modified and purified, mixed with a solution, and packaged. The end product—not yet approved for use in most lands—is called a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier, or HBOC. Since the heme is responsible for the rich red color of blood, a unit of HBOC looks just like a unit of red blood cells, the primary component from which it is taken.

Unlike red blood cells, which must be refrigerated and discarded after a few weeks, the HBOC can be stored at room temperature and used months later. And since the cell membrane with its unique antigens is gone, severe reactions due to mismatched blood types pose no threat. However, compared with other blood fractions, the HBOC presents more challenges to conscientious Christians, who seek to obey God’s law on blood. Why? As long as the HBOC is derived from blood, there are two objections that may be raised. One, the HBOC carries out the key function of a primary component of blood, the red cells. Two, hemoglobin, from which the HBOC is derived, makes up a significant portion of that component. Regarding this and similar products, then, Christians face a very serious decision. They must carefully and prayerfully meditate on Bible principles concerning the sacredness of blood. With a keen desire to maintain a good relationship with Jehovah, each must be guided by his Bible-trained conscience.—Galatians 6:5.

[rocket]

Imput HBOC into your Watchtower CD or the same article is linked below (scroll down to box) :

http://www.watchtower.org/e/200608/article_03.htm

Also:

http://www.noblood.org/content/199-hemoglobin_based_oxygen_carriers'>http://www.noblood.org/content/199-hemoglobin_based_oxygen_carriers

and:

http://www.noblood.org/content/

and:

http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6350-when-blood-not-option-factors-affecting-survival-after-use-hemoglobin

[Willow]

Thanks Brother Jerry. I knew I had read something about it when I joined but didn't have time to re-check when I was writing that this AM so I appreciate the clarification.