noblood http://www.noblood.org A community of medical professionals and members of the public who are responding to the worldwide concern about the efficacy, cost and availability of donor blood. en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:00:24 GMT vBulletin 1 http://www.noblood.org/images/misc/rss.jpg noblood http://www.noblood.org Bloodless Protocol http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6705-bloodless-protocol.html Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:18:35 GMT I work in a hospital, approx 150 beds, and am advocating for bloodless protocol/procedures but am not sure what the first step should be. Any suggestions... I work in a hospital, approx 150 beds, and am advocating for bloodless protocol/procedures but am not sure what the first step should be. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. ]]> Ask a Professional jgillespie http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6705-bloodless-protocol.html Mayo Clinic Florida widens hepatitis investigation http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6703-mayo-clinic-florida-widens-hepatitis-investigation.html Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:23:42 GMT Thursday, September 2, 2010, 2:48pm EDT | Modified: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 4:54pm *Mayo Clinic Florida widens hepatitis investigation* ...
Thursday, September 2, 2010, 2:48pm EDT | Modified: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 4:54pm


Mayo Clinic Florida widens hepatitis investigation





Mayo Clinic Florida said Thursday it will begin to notify and test the 3,209 patients who were potentially exposed to hepatitis C by a former employee.
Hospital officials say a now-fired radiology technologist stole a narcotic drug for personal use, first injecting himself with the drug Fentanyl before he changed the needle and refilled the syringe with saline to inject patients. His actions are believed by hospital officials to be the source of hepatitis C infection found in three patients who underwent interventional radiology procedures over the past four years. One died as a result of the virus.



 ]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS Richard Casas http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6703-mayo-clinic-florida-widens-hepatitis-investigation.html Joint replacement surgeons have many options for blood management http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6702-joint-replacement-surgeons-have-many-options-blood-management.html Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:14:46 GMT



ORTHOPEDICS TODAY September 1, 2010
Joint replacement surgeons have many options for blood management

Because surgeons create blood loss anemia when performing total knee arthroplasty, they need to take responsibility for minimizing the consequences, according to an investigator at the 11th Annual Current Concepts in Joint Replacement (CCJR) Spring Meeting in Las Vegas.
Bernard N. Stulberg, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Cleveland Clinic, Center for Adult Reconstruction, said the effects of acute blood loss anemia include fatigue, confusion, reduced vigor, delayed wound healing, delayed rehabilitation and depressed cardiac function, as well “as perhaps modulation that comes with transfusion.”

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=68092
]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS Richard Casas http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6702-joint-replacement-surgeons-have-many-options-blood-management.html Bloodless surgery in gynecologic oncology http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6700-bloodless-surgery-gynecologic-oncology.html Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:38:01 GMT Mt Sinai J Med. 2009 Dec;76(6):589-97. *Bloodless surgery in gynecologic oncology.* Nagarsheth NP... Mt Sinai J Med. 2009 Dec;76(6):589-97.
Bloodless surgery in gynecologic oncology.

Nagarsheth NP, Sasan F.
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, NJ, USA. nimesh.nagarsheth@gmail.com
Abstract

Bloodless medicine and surgery is an evolving field in the practice of medicine designed to avoid allogeneic transfusions. Although this field has largely developed in response to the growing needs of Jehovah's Witness patients refusing transfusions, all patients may potentially benefit from the avoidance of transfusions. The applications of bloodless techniques and strategies in the field of gynecologic oncology have been limited until recently, in part because of the generally large blood loss associated with gynecologic cancer surgeries. However, as advances in our understanding of bloodless surgery have developed and surgical techniques have been refined, the gynecologic oncology patient can now benefit from the avoidance of allogeneic transfusions. This review outlines bloodless surgery as it applies to gynecologic oncology patients and presents a structured approach to successfully managing these complex patients.

PMID: 20014417 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ]]> Medical Articles and Abstracts Hatice Simsek http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6700-bloodless-surgery-gynecologic-oncology.html research lung transplant http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6698-research-lung-transplant.html Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:03:13 GMT I live in S.W. Kentucky and wondering if anyone one knows of any Dr.'s or hospitals in this area that will do bloodless transplants. Please Help ]]> Ask a Professional hcmanning http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6698-research-lung-transplant.html <![CDATA[IRISH Blood service 'challenged' to maintain standards, report says]]> http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6696-irish-blood-service-challenged-maintain-standards-report-says.html Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:38:17 GMT Blood service 'challenged' to maintain standards, report says

The Irish Times - Tuesday, August 31, 2010
EITHNE DONNELLAN, Health Correspondent

THE IRISH Blood Transfusion Service will be “seriously challenged” to maintain international standards in the current economic climate, the organisation’s chief executive has said.

Andrew Kelly said the service, like many other organisations, had to embark on a series of cost-cutting measures in the past year to reduce its cost base.

“The economic environment in Ireland will continue to be difficult for the next two to three years and in that context, the service will be required to make further cost savings and reduce its prices,” Mr Kelly said in the organisation’s latest annual report published yesterday.

In 2009, it cut costs by getting reductions on all supplier contracts of between 8 and 10 per cent, the elimination of overtime in the laboratories of the national blood centre, and the introduction of an extended 7am-7pm working day. There were also reductions in non-pay costs including travel and subsistence and an initiative to tender with the UK Blood Service for blood bags generated significant savings through economies of scale.

While any new initiative must be implemented in a cost-neutral manner at the blood bank, Mr Kelly said the primary function of the blood transfusion service to provide a consistent and safe supply of blood to patients “must not be overlooked or compromised in the quest for cost reductions and price savings”.

Meanwhile, the report reveals the service’s pension fund was declared insolvent in March 2009. It is obliged to put forward a funding proposal to the Pensions Board by November. There are 610 active members, 339 deferred members and 81 pensioners in the scheme.

The annual report also says much energy and resources were expended by the service during the last year on preparing for the global swine flu pandemic. It added that while flu probably could be spread by blood transfusion, there was no evidence to show the H1N1 virus was transmitted by blood transfusion in Ireland or anywhere else.

The report notes the service began selling plasma collected as part of whole blood donations to a commercial company earlier this year. The blood product has not been used by the service since 2001 due to the risks of vCJD and was discarded.

The service said it was costing it about €140,000 a year to incinerate the unused plasma. It expects to get €800,000 a year from the commercial company for the product, which it is using to test diagnostic equipment.
Donors were surveyed on the their attitude to such a commercial arrangement in advance and “had no major issues with this proposal”, the report says.

Dr William Murphy, IBTS medical and scientific director, said that while a test for vCJD seemed imminent in 2009, the new technology did not prove itself in field trials.

Blood service 'challenged' to maintain standards, report says - The Irish Times - Tue, Aug 31, 2010 ]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS lekozza http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6696-irish-blood-service-challenged-maintain-standards-report-says.html Screening May Reduce Effects of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia: Study http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6694-screening-may-reduce-effects-neonatal-thrombocytopenia-study.html Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:10:38 GMT Membership of Medscape is required to view the full article here

 Screening May Reduce Effects of Neonatal Thrombocytopenia: Study

News Author: Frederik Joelving
CME Author: Penny Murata, MD

August 20, 2010 — Severe fetal or neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia occurs in about 4 per 10,000 pregnancies, according to Dutch researchers, who call for routine screening.

 "This devastating disease is underestimated, it leads to many life-long handicaps and unlike many other congenital diseases, it is likely almost completely preventable," senior researcher Dr. Dick Oepkes of Leiden University Medical Center told Reuters Health by e-mail.

 "Clinical practice should incorporate standard screening of all pregnant women for potential risk of FNAIT, and treat those at real risk, the ones that develop antibodies against fetal platelets," said Dr. Oepkes, whose findings appeared online July 8 in BJOG.

Log on to Medscape to read the full article here…
 ]]> Medical Articles and Abstracts Informaticus http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6694-screening-may-reduce-effects-neonatal-thrombocytopenia-study.html 36 weeks pregnant http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6695-36-weeks-pregnant.html Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:25:25 GMT Hello there, My name is Rachel Soza, I am 33 yrs old and I am a mother of twin boys and a singleton; I am now expecting my fourth baby and today my... Hello there,

My name is Rachel Soza, I am 33 yrs old and I am a mother of twin boys and a singleton; I am now expecting my fourth baby and today my obstretrician refused to performed my c-section witch is scheduled for Sept. 17th, if I refused the use of a blood transfusion!!!

She treated me like garbage and practically called my religious beliefs stupid! She said she could not believe that I was willing to put my life at risk and my babie's life at risk just because this is what my church is telling me!

I felt it was very unethical of her to refuse to perform my surgery based on my religious belifs! not only that, but she is leaving me stranded when my surgery is only two weeks away! At this point she practically told me to have an answer for her next week when I come in to see her, I told her my answer was still going to be !NO!!! and she was so upset with me she kicked me out of her office and told me she would see me next week.

I am very upset about the way she treated me, but more concerned about the fact that this woman has my life in her hands!!! I worry about what might happen if I get into a situation were she needs to administer blood? Will she use an alternative method to save me and my baby, or will she just decide to administer blood, or simply let m e die because I refused the use of blood???

If anyone out there can help, I will really appreciate your advice at this point.

Thanks, and blessings to all

Rachel Soza ]]> Ask a Professional Rachel Soza http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6695-36-weeks-pregnant.html Pregnancy risks related to blood http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6688-pregnancy-risks-related-blood.html Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:41:19 GMT Hello. A little about myself. I am a 31 year old Jehovah's Witness and a husband to a beautiful 31 year old who happens to be 30 weeks pregnant. We are using a midwife at the moment. I say at the moment because my wife is borderline for having gestational diabetes and in Canada a midwife who's patient starts taking insulin has to be referred to a doctor. In any event, it's 4:30 in the morning and like any soon to be father I am up fretting about worst case scenarios.

As such, one of my worries is possible complications that could arise where a medical professional taking care of my wife might find it necessary to use blood. Trying to research that subject I came here and looked on the main page under pregnancy. I found a few links from this year dealing with specific things, but many of the threads were years old.

I guess what I am getting after is this: Is there a list or could someone give me a general list of the different types of complications that arise due to pregnancy that can lead to a medical professional being put in a position of deeming it necessary to recommend a blood transfusion or even blood related products. I am especially looking for complications due to labor. Especially important if possible, also listing ways to diagnose such problems before they happen would be great. (Example: I have heard that a woman giving birth can have some sort of hemorrhage during labor where she can bleed out very quickly. What is this and is there a way to check for such a condition before going into labor?)

This list doesn't have to just relate to my wifes specifics. I think that this website could really do with a centralized list of various pregnancy complications for anyone to view if it doesn't already have one somewhere.

Thank you in advance. ]]> Ask a Professional haddow777 http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6688-pregnancy-risks-related-blood.html Hi new here. http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6687-hi-new-here.html Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:34:40 GMT greetings to all greetings to all ]]> New Members Bro Tompson http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6687-hi-new-here.html Knee Replacement http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6686-knee-replacement.html Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:12:15 GMT Hi,
I'm new on this forum, although I'd signed up some time ago now. I'm interested in specific information on alternative strategies to avoid blood transfusion in knee replacement procedures.
Although I will continue doing my own research, perhaps someone would be so kind to give me a few pointers, perhaps websites or articles where I can find relevant information.
So much thanks to all of you for contributing to this website! I hope in future I'll have some info to share with you all as well.

Thank you so much,
Pieter ]]> Ask a Professional pdgfca http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6686-knee-replacement.html research on bloodless organ transplant http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6684-research-bloodless-organ-transplant.html Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:30:59 GMT Greetings from NC :o) I am new to this forum. Desperately trying to do research on bloodless organ transplant. My fleshly brother needs a new Kidney. Can... Greetings from NC :o)
I am new to this forum.
Desperately trying to do research on bloodless organ transplant.
My fleshly brother needs a new Kidney.
Can anyone tell me if all the blood in a donor Kidney can be removed?
Thanks
David ]]> Ask a Professional LoserDave http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6684-research-bloodless-organ-transplant.html New to the forum http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6682-new-forum.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:28:36 GMT Hello. Nickname is Trafpol. Location, London. UK Former Traffic cop. JW past 60yrs. Recently lost my wife to heart disease. Interested in all aspects... Hello.

Nickname is Trafpol. Location, London. UK Former Traffic cop. JW past 60yrs. Recently lost my wife to heart disease. Interested in all aspects of bloodless surgery and cell saver machines. Feel free to email me. ]]> New Members Trafpol http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6682-new-forum.html Hi http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6681-hi.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:27:13 GMT Need to do some research so that I can make an informed decision. Looking forward to reading all the material re non-blood alternatives. Need to do some research so that I can make an informed decision. Looking forward to reading all the material re non-blood alternatives. ]]> New Members Wendyk http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6681-hi.html Can all the blood be removed from a donor Kidney? http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6679-can-all-blood-removed-donor-kidney.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:16:23 GMT Hi My fleshly brother is in need of a Kidney transplant. My question is , Can all the blood be removed from a donor Kidney? Thanks David Hi
My fleshly brother is in need of a Kidney transplant.
My question is , Can all the blood be removed from a donor Kidney?

Thanks David ]]> Ask a Professional LoserDave http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6679-can-all-blood-removed-donor-kidney.html Need some assistance, please. http://www.noblood.org/general-discussions/6677-need-some-assistance-please.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:21:06 GMT Hello.

My husband is going to be filling out the Advanced Medical Directive. He is a Jehovah's Witness. His directive card states this.

My question is in regards to the Emergency Contact Information. The paper work he received with his card states, "The Advance Medical Directive does not authorize persons named as your emergency contacts to make health care decisions for you. The purpose of this section is to provide your doctor with the name and telephone number, including area code, of persons you would like contacted if you are unconscious or incapable."

So my question is this: my husband would like my name to be put in the emergency contact area because he wants me notified should something happen to him. My concern is that if my name appears in that section, I would not be able to help make the any decisions for him seeing as the card states emergency contacts are not authorized to make such decisions. Am I right to be worried? And should he put someone else's name just as the contact and in turn THAT person contacts me later so that I would be allowed to assist my husband get the treatment he believes in?

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you! ]]> General Discussions CuriousLu http://www.noblood.org/general-discussions/6677-need-some-assistance-please.html Hello http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6674-hello.html Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:38:02 GMT Hello. I am new to the site very interesting reading. Found this site trying to find info on raising platelets naturally for a breast cancer patient. Hello. I am new to the site very interesting reading. Found this site trying to find info on raising platelets naturally for a breast cancer patient. ]]> New Members WHI950 http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6674-hello.html hello http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6673-hello.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:48:35 GMT i am a hematologist and got interested tonow more about your forum dr marwan akasheh i am a hematologist and got interested tonow more about your forum
dr marwan akasheh ]]> New Members makasheh http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6673-hello.html I am New. Help please http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6672-i-am-new-help-please.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:01:37 GMT I tried to view posts and I couldn't figure out how to do it. I have a friend with Hodgkins Lymphoma Stage 4 and I want to find out more about it.:( Can I do a search? ]]> Ask a Professional MEADOWS1 http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6672-i-am-new-help-please.html New Member Need Hernia Surgery New to Forum http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6671-new-member-need-hernia-surgery-new-forum.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:49:45 GMT Hello I need to have a hernia operation o my abdomen I live in the Chicagoland area and want it performed Bloodlessly. Any suggestions on excellent... Hello

I need to have a hernia operation o my abdomen I live in the Chicagoland area and want it performed Bloodlessly. Any suggestions on excellent hospitals and Doctors? ]]> Ask a Professional thegarchers1 http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6671-new-member-need-hernia-surgery-new-forum.html <![CDATA["Life saving blood transfusion?"]]> http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6668-life-saving-blood-transfusion.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:50:41 GMT Examiner.com

"Life saving blood transfusion?"
  • August 1st, 2010 9:18 pm MT

The Associated Press reported this week that there is growing concern about blood stored for transfusions.

When we cut our finger, we see blood as a simple red liquid. It was perhaps that view that prompted doctors centuries ago to believe that blood that leaked out of one patient could simply be replaced by blood from another patient.

Such is not the belief of doctors today. There is a growing school of thought among the best doctors today that transfusing blood is as fraught with complications as transplanting organs.

What doctors in the 1700's couldn't have known is that blood is a complex mix of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma, and a myriad other small constituents. Likely you've heard blood being referred to as "type A," "type B, or "type O." These distinctions refer to antigens in the blood, and so far researchers have discovered 29 different "types." The antigens essentially make each person's blood unique; they do not play well with others. Mismatched blood was the reason for the death of nearly all early tranfusion patients. Even with all the technology available today, it is estimated that about one in 12,000 units of blood transfused in the United States is given to the wrong person.

Your body creates red blood cells at the astonishing rate of 2 million to 3 million per second! That's an amazing little factoid, but it makes you think: if your bone marrow is creating 2 million cells per second, it is doing so because 2 million blood cells are dying per second. Since a unit of blood, stored, waiting to be transfused, is about one tenth of a person's whole blood supply, that means that one tenth of that figure, about 200,000 red blood cells, are dying each second. If blood is stored for just one hour, that's 72,000,000 dead cells. I'm not feeling real great about 72,000,000 dead anything being pumped into my body. What's the number of dead cells after a day? A week? How long before they begin to putrify?

White blood cells come in many varieties. Some of them live for a year, but some die every 36 hours. So a unit of stored blood has millions of dead white cells in it also. Other blood constituents, such as antibodies and hormones, also begin to break down and die in stored blood.

In the normal course of things, these broken down and decaying blood constituents are filtered out by your liver and kidneys, and passed out of your body in your feces and urine. When a unit of blood is drawn from someone, some of this pre-feces-pre-urine material was on it's way to the donor's kidneys and liver, and got sidetracked into the IV needle, to be stored for someone's transfusion. If you're like me, you may be struggling to come to grips with how you would feel about having this quart of rotting material routed into your arteries. I think the word you're looking for is "eeeew."

But there's more. While blood is rushing around in your bloodstream, the motion generates a chemical called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is vital to your blood's ability to carry oxygen. It helps dilate your smallest blood vessels to allow blood to squeeze through. If blood can't get to the smallest passageways, it can't offload it's oxygen. And transporting oxygen to your cells is kind of the whole point of transfusing blood.

However, when blood is removed from a donor and sits still in a storage bag, it no longer generates nitric oxide, and it immediately begins losing whatever nitric oxide it contains. Some tests indicate that stored blood has lost most of it's nitric oxide - hence most of it's oxygen-carrying capacity - within three hours of being removed from a donor. Three hours!

For these and other reasons, many doctors are taking a long, hard look at blood transfusions. Several studies have shown that patients that are treated without blood transfusions have shorter stays in the hospital, and fewer post-operative problems.

For example, it was reported this week that Dr Jimmy Chow of St. Luke's Medical Center in Phoenix has developed a micro-invasive hip replacement procedure. Hip replacement is typically a bloody operation, but Chow claims that with his method the patient loses no more than 200 cc's - about 6 ounces - of blood.

Next time you read a story that uses the expression "life saving blood transfusion," you might want to forward this article to the writer of that story.

]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS Informaticus http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6668-life-saving-blood-transfusion.html Processing blood fractions /cryoprecipitate http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6667-processing-blood-fractions-cryoprecipitate.html Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:13:28 GMT Greetings, I appreciate any help you can give me. I am looking for some answers regarding blood fractions in general and specifically concerning ... Greetings,

I appreciate any help you can give me. I am looking for some answers regarding blood fractions in general and specifically concerning cryoprecipitate and cyrosupernatant.

It has been my understanding that the fractionation process of blood essentially destroyed the blood and it could never be reconstituted as blood. Is this correct?

However, I have been told that cryoprecipitate can be recombined with cryosupernatant and would then be fully plasma. Is this the case?

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

Yours,

Ron Rhoades ]]> Ask a Professional Ron Rhoades http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6667-processing-blood-fractions-cryoprecipitate.html Prosthetic Hip Infection http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6665-prosthetic-hip-infection.html Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:57:23 GMT Hi, I'm new to this wonderful site.
Does anyone know of an alternative way of treating Prosthetic Hip Infection?
My husband had a new hip replacement in Feb 2010 and has been struggling with Staphycocollous areus ever since. (more than 6 months)
In and out of Hospital, intravenous antibiotics, clexane for blood clots
He had surgery 2 weeks ago but was aborted due to heavy blood loss, his heamoglobin was only 98 before surgery commenced.
Dr's plan is as soon as heamoglobin is up again to 130 by use of EPO injections, to try again to take out the hip replacement, put in antibioic loaded spacer and then about 3 months later put in a brand new hip replacement.
Is there no other way?
Can anyone help please?
Thanks yvonne :) ]]> Ask a Professional yvonnebrugman http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6665-prosthetic-hip-infection.html Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6659-hereditary-hemorrhagic-telangiectasia.html Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:32:12 GMT Hi there, I am hoping that someone might be able to help. My dad has Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and at the moment his blood count is quite low (7.6)... Hi there, I am hoping that someone might be able to help. My dad has Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and at the moment his blood count is quite low (7.6) due to intense nosebleeds. The hospital keep telling him he should have a blood transfusion but he does not want one and when we tell them that there are alternative they just keep saying that there aren't. Can anyone suggest anything to boost his red blood cell count? He is having iron and vitamin c, as well as lots of broccoli, kale, beef, orange juice, stout etc but any other suppliements that would be useful or any blood transfusion alternatives to throw at the doctors would be very much appreciated!! Thank you, xxx ]]> Ask a Professional aurora http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6659-hereditary-hemorrhagic-telangiectasia.html International Symposium on Critical Blood Loss http://www.noblood.org/events/6658-international-symposium-critical-blood-loss.html Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:31:25 GMT This from Hemostat Guy. The link to the actual page for the Symposium is located on the following page: Medical Hemostat: International Symposium on... This from Hemostat Guy. The link to the actual page for the Symposium is located on the following page:

Medical Hemostat: International Symposium on Critical Bleeding 2010 ]]> Events jgrossberg http://www.noblood.org/events/6658-international-symposium-critical-blood-loss.html The Truth About Blood Transfusions-PBS program http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6657-truth-about-blood-transfusions-pbs-program.html Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:13:50 GMT The PBS show Need to Know looks at the practice of blood transfusions in the US and how it is changing in the aftermath of research suggesting transfusions may...
The PBS show Need to Know looks at the practice of blood transfusions in the US and how it is changing in the aftermath of research suggesting transfusions may be associated with serious risks other than disease transmission. It also looks at blood management and blood conservation programs at hospitals that are trying to reduce the number of transfusions.

This program will air Friday, August 20 at 8:30 pm EST on Need to Know. Please check your local listings or stream online at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/

Web site: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-the-truth-about-transfusions/2870/ ]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS Leslie Richards http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6657-truth-about-blood-transfusions-pbs-program.html searching for alternative http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6656-searching-alternative.html Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:52:19 GMT Hi, My husband had hip replacement surgery due to osteoarthritis last Feb. 3 mths later was hospitalised and diagnosed with staph aureus. He has been on... Hi, My husband had hip replacement surgery due to osteoarthritis last Feb. 3 mths later was hospitalised and diagnosed with staph aureus.
He has been on intravenous antibiotics almost non stop ever since.
Blood clots developed due to picc line so now on Clexane 2xday.
The wound site(hip) was flushed out when first diagnosed.
Attempt was made last week to take out the new prothesis and insert Spacer with antibiotics but had to be abandoned due to heavy blood loss.
Heamoglobin was 98 when started, now on EPO injections which are working and heamo now 107.
Surgeon's aim is to recover heamo to 130-140 and then resume 2 stage surgery.
My husband won't take blood. Does anyone know of an alternative, like do this type of surgery in 1 step with success?
Or does anyone know how to beat this Staph? Without taking the prothesis out? Could you live with Staph, how big is the risk of sepsis?
Hope someone can help us, Thank you ]]> Ask a Professional yvonnebrugman http://www.noblood.org/ask-professional/6656-searching-alternative.html Less Blood is Really More, Transfusion Critics Say http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6642-less-blood-really-more-transfusion-critics-say.html Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:33:29 GMT *Less Blood is Really More, Transfusion Critics Say* *Cutting back on blood use could halt infections, illness — and even death*. By JoNel... Less Blood is Really More, Transfusion Critics Say

Cutting back on blood use could halt infections, illness — and even death.

By JoNel Aleccia Health writer msnbc.com

As a doctor and a patient, Dale Reisner knows the value of donated blood. But when the Seattle obstetrician had to have heart surgery four years ago, she did everything possible not to get a single drop.

“I don’t have any religious problems with it. If I was near death, I definitely would have taken blood, no question,” said Reisner, who is fine now at age 62. “But if I could avoid a transfusion by better pre-op preparation, then I was interested.”

Long dominated by Jehovah’s Witnesses — whose faith forbids blood transfusions — bloodless surgeries and blood conservation programs are now attracting mainstream patients worried about what some experts say are clear risks, including more infections, longer recuperation, increased illness and even death.

"The best blood is in your own veins,” said Dr. Lori Heller, medical director of the blood management program at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, where Reisner had her surgery — without any transfusion. “We want to think before we transfuse.”

Decades of experience with Jehovah’s Witness patients, including 1.5 million members in the United States, has helped propel the new emphasis on blood management, said Sherri Ozawa, clinical director of the Institute for Patient Blood Management at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey.

“In the early days, it was, ‘We have Witness patients, what in the world do we do with them?’” she recalled. “Now we believe it should be the standard of care.”

Change in attitudes about blood
More doctors, from cardiac surgeons to orthopedists, are offering patients ways to conserve their own blood and avoid transfusions. From drugs that boost blood levels before surgery to cell salvage and blood diversion techniques during operations and lower thresholds for giving blood at all, the techniques are a sea change in the attitude that more blood is always better.

“There’s a movement across the country to use less blood,” said Dr. Marisa Marques, a professor of pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, who has led a new program that has cut blood use there by at least 25 percent since 2003. At the same time, she said blood costs for the hospital fell by $3.5 million per year.

The number of U.S. hospitals with blood management programs has jumped from about 70 in 2002 to about 110 today. That’s still a fraction of the 5,815 registered hospitals in the country, but others are looking to adopt some of the techniques, said Dr. Darrell Triulzi, a professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and vice president of the board of directors of AABB, an association of blood banks and professionals.

However, Triulzi and other critics caution that while thoughtful blood management is a good goal, the downside of transfusion isn’t as clear-cut as some advocates claim. Some studies have shown negative associations in patients who receive transfusions, but not that the blood caused the problems.

“You can’t tell whether it’s sicker patients that are getting transfused, or whether it’s from the transfusion itself,” he said.

In the U.S., which sucked up 14.4 million units of blood in 2007, blood use has been growing at about 2 percent to 3 percent a year. However, it’s expected to be flat when new figures come out this fall, Triulzi said. Part of that is fueled by the economic downturn, which put a damper on elective surgeries and left fewer patients with health insurance to pay for necessary operations. But part of it is fueled by a philosophical shift, particularly among some doctors.

“I shudder when I think about it,” said Heller, a cardiac anesthesiologist. “We used to just routinely transfuse.”

The shift started in about 1999, when first studies in Canada indicated that patients who got transfusions seemed to do worse than those who didn’t. Since then, the awareness has grown, said Dr. Timothy Hannon, a former Navy flight surgeon who founded Strategic Blood Management, an Indianapolis consulting firm hired by hospitals interested in cutting blood use.

“As our knowledge of transfusions has progressed, we find that transfusions are less beneficial than we once thought and more harmful,” Hannon said.

For some docs, transfusion is a habit
Still, many doctors today turn to transfusion as an automatic practice, giving borderline anemic patients smaller amounts of blood — often just one to two units — out of habit, said Hannon, who consulted worked with some 30 hospitals since 2001.

The trouble with that, said Marques, whose hospital hired Hannon, is that every blood transfusion is like a miniature organ transplant, with the potential for reactions, errors and infections.

“Anytime we’re exposed to someone else’s blood, we’re exposed to antibodies we’ve never seen before,” she said. “People think blood is lifesaving, but complications are the price you pay.”

Studies have shown that blood transfusions are associated with higher levels of hospital-related infections, pneumonia and central-line sepsis, a blood infection.

Less blood is really more, transfusion critics say - Health - Health care - msnbc.com ]]> News and Hot Topics such as Hepatitis C, SARS and AIDS lekozza http://www.noblood.org/news-hot-topics-such-hepatitis-c-sars-aids/6642-less-blood-really-more-transfusion-critics-say.html Technique Eliminates Blood Transfusions for Hip Surface Replacement http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6641-technique-eliminates-blood-transfusions-hip-surface-replacement.html Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:31:11 GMT *From Medscape Medical News (http://www.medscape.com/news) * *Technique Eliminates Blood Transfusions for Hip Surface Replacement* Fran Lowry Authors... From Medscape Medical News

Technique Eliminates Blood Transfusions for Hip Surface Replacement

Fran Lowry
Authors and Disclosures


http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/718682
 ]]> Medical Articles and Abstracts Hatice Simsek http://www.noblood.org/medical-articles-abstracts/6641-technique-eliminates-blood-transfusions-hip-surface-replacement.html new http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6630-new.html Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:49:36 GMT :confused:Hi I am very new to this site and how it works just wanted to meet others who have had non blood surgery :confused:Hi I am very new to this site and how it works just wanted to meet others who have had non blood surgery ]]> New Members philkay http://www.noblood.org/new-members/6630-new.html