There are numerous potential advantages of this substance for the general public and in the military community. In addition to the minimization of exposure to blood-borne diseases that may be carried in donor blood supplies, such as HIV and West Nile virus, HBOCs can be stored longer than the 5-week shelf-life of red blood cells, which makes it ideal in situations of natural or manmade disasters when large quantities of blood and blood products may be needed.
According to the article, HBOCs have been in development for well over 100 years. HBOCs increase tissue perfusion, increased oxygen delivery to tissues throughout the body, as would happen in a transfusion with regular donor blood. However, HBOCs are not permanent substitutes for they do not remain in the circulation as long as red cells nor are they complete blood substitutes as they do not contain clotting factors or the cellular elements of the human body's defense system. In any case, HBOCs can be considered an effective temporary solution in situations where improved tissue perfusion is desirable. The potential of having HBOCs in supply in situations when there is massive hemorrhaging can be lifesaving; use of HBOCs in elective surgery can effectively increase the blood supply, creating as much as "a 20% increase in the usable blood supply if applied to cardiac surgery alone."
"If approved, HBOCs will help to alleviate shortages in the donor blood supply while providing patients with a needed increase in oxygen delivery to tissues in a timely fashion," explains author, Dr. A. G. Greenburg. "Blood shortages and the risk of transmission of infectious disease, along with other consequences of the transfusion of red cells, e.g. altered immune response, cry out for the development of a shelf-storable, safe substitute for the oxygen delivery capacity of blood."
Media wishing to receive PDFs of these articles please contact medicalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net. For additional information on this particular topic, please see Artificial Organs, Volume 28, Issue 9 on www.blackwell-synergy.com.
About the Author A. Gerson Greenburg, MD, PhD has had extensive experience related to the field of HBOCs. Working for over 30 years with red cell substitutes and oxygen theraputics; from the design of chemically modified hemoglobin molecules through clinical testing of candidate compounds, an extensive bibliography has been amassed. Dr. Greenburg received his MD from theUniversity of Chicago in 1963 and a PhD from Northwestern University in 1972. He currently resides in Rhode Island, USA. Dr. Greenburg is available for questions and interviews and can be reached at (401) 793-4500.
About Artificial Organs Artificial Organs is the official peer reviewed journal of the International Federation for Artificial Organs, the International Faculty for Artificial Organs, and the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps. Artificial Organs publishes original research articles dealing with research, developments, and clinical applications of artificial organs including organ replacement, recovery, and regeneration. In print since 1977, the journal will continue to publish original articles featuring studies of design, performance, and clinical evaluation of organ systems for the international medical, scientific, and engineering communities involved in the research, development, and clinical application of artificial organ technologies.
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1 McCullough J. Progress toward a pathogen-free blood supply. Clin Infect Dis 2003;37:88-95.
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