BLOOD TRANSFUSION

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 July 1946, Page 3

BLOOD TRANSFUSION

PROCEDURE FREE FROM DANGER assurance to donors This is the second of the series o'f authoritative articles on blood transfusion made available to the Evening Star for publication. It is of particular interest in view of the proposal to form a Blood Transfusion Society in Greymouth. 11. The question of the risks and inconveniences involved in giving blood for a transfusion is often raised. It can be definitely stated that the procedure is free ironi danger to the donor. Occasionally giddiness or even fainting may occur, but in such cases one finds that the reason is not simply the withdrawal of blood. The loss of one pint, the usual quantity withdrawn, procures of itself no physical upset whatever Giddiness or fainting occurs usually in donors giving their first transfusion or in dose retatives of the patient, and is in these cases due to nervousness, apprehension, or worry. These upsets are not common. Occasionally these troubles follow if the donor has been overworking that day or has not had his' usual meals. They pass quickly with half an hour's rest and a warm sweet drink. The great majority of donors do not suffer them and can resume their usual work within half an hour. The body replaces the pint of blood from its reserve supply within a few hours, and has replenished the reserves'within three weeks. It is therefore not harmful to bleed a donor every four weeks —but it is preferable and fairer not to use a donor more than once in three months, preferably less often. This is to avoid upsets in people’s working hours and share the task evenly among as many donors as possible. The more donors, the fewer the calls upon each.

War-time Lessons.

'Major-General Sir H. Ogilvie, reviewing the surgical lessons of the war wrote: “The greatest advance of this war, more important even than penicillin, is the development of the transfusion service. It was in the Middle East, during the thrust of the Eighth Army from Alamein to Tunis that the life-saving importance of early, rapid, and adequate blood transfusion was first learnt. To-day we know no limits in amount or rate of administration, other than the needs of the patient. A transfusion service, with blood banks sufficient, to meet any needs, must be available for the resuscitation of the injured and the restoration of the sick in civil life.” The usual method of taking blood from the donor is by inserting a needle into an arm vein, after injecting a drop of local anaesthetic into the skin. The blood is then allowed to flow or is pumped off into a special container. The needle is withdrawn and the puncture covered with a small dressing which can be removed next day. The blood container has some sodium citrate in it which prevents clotting. Should the blood be for storage, some glucose is added to aid the nutrition of the red cells. Sometimes small amounts of antiseptic are also added. The blood may be given to the patient by inserting a needle into a vein and letting it run in slowly, or in emergency, it may be pumped in. If blood or fluid' is to be given for a long time, a small cut is made and a needle tied into a vein. ' On rare occasions the old-fashion-ed method of direct transfusion where blood is pumped directly from donor to patient is still necessary, but this method has so many disadvantages that it is hardly ever used now. During the war it was found that it was often not possible, in shocked patients, to find a vein quickly; this led to the discovery, that blood could successfully l?e given by inserting a needle into the breast bone (in adults) or a leg bone (in children). The slight, risk of infection is far outweighed by the speed and simplicity of this method, and its use in urgent cases is growing. Donor List of 300 Required. A donor list of 300 is ample for a district of 12.000 as it provides sufficient numbers of each group to meet any emergency, even repeated ones, without calling on donors more often than once in six months. In the case of a major disaster there would be enough donors to supply a hospital of 120 beds, even if half were filled by casualties. This, of course, assumes that the donor list is Lully up-to-date and that no donor defaults on his voluntary obligation. As a matter of fact, it would be desirable for all workers in dangerous industries to be blood-typed and to carry on them a card giving their blood type. This need only be done once, and should they be involved in an accident would save time if they, should need transfusion. This is a matter which should be gradually introduced, for example amongst miners, bushmen and railwaymen.