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Thu Jun 14 13:28:38 BST 2012

Red Cross "Profit"  Don't go there.

On 6/14/12, Charlene M Morris <cvmmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
> As a former blood banking medical technologist, (GWU in DC, circa '73-80) I
> must take a small exception with the US Red Cross using fractionated blood
> products *for a profit*.
>
> DOES it make money for hospitals? Perhaps-- but we do need the extensive
> screening of donors, crossmatching--and heavens forbid, the
> antibody/incompatability problems that often arise-- that sometimes takes
> hours to days to sleuth..)
>
> Add to that, the expected post-transfusion reactions and that require
> workup and you have a lot more complicated a process than drawing out 500
> mls of someone's blood to transfer to another unfortunate being
> contemporaneously.
>
> Further, the shelf life of FFP and platelets can be extended exponentially
> and with washing the rbcs (ANOTHER costly machine to accomplish this step)
> decreases the proteins that predispose aforementioned post-tx reaction!!)
>
> Does the ARC have the best system? I really think Australia has done a good
> job for its population-- but is that transferable to our large, diverse
> (nonhomogenous) patients here?
>
> Just some food for thought.
>
> cmm
>
> On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 7:12 AM, Gross, Ronald <
> Ronald.Gross at baystatehealth.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Christos,
>> I should have specified "American" Red Cross. Previous posts by you on
>> this subject have been informative from both the historical and
>> practical/logistical standpoint.
>> Thanks,
>> Ron
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jun 14, 2012, at 5:45 AM, "Christos Giannou" <x.giannou at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Dear Ron,
>> >
>> > "Truth be told,1:1:1 resuscitation is nothing new.  It has been used
>> > for
>> > decades - in the form of whole blood transfusions (before the Red Cross
>> > figured out how to make a whole lot of money fractionating whole
>> > blood).
>> "
>> >
>> > You are, of course, talking about blood transfusion practice in the
>> > USA,
>> > now taken up by all of the industrialised world. The American Red Cross
>> is
>> > an independent institution founded in American law and a member of the
>> > International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. What they do, or
>> > did,
>> > concerning blood transfusion in the USA is their own concern.
>> >
>> > As I have mentioned on several occasions on this list, in hospitals of
>> the
>> > International Committee of the Red Cross (an independent institution
>> > founded in Swiss law: Henry Dunant and the Geneva Conventions and all
>> that
>> > and I won't bother you at this point with all the details of the
>> > internal
>> > bureaucracy and politiking) and in most hospitals in the
>> non-industrialised
>> > world, we have never used fractionated blood; can't afford it.
>> (Exception:
>> > child with severe haemolysis and anaemia due to malaria. We hang up a
>> unit
>> > of whole blood for the RBCs to settle and transfuse that only, stopping
>> > before the plasma flows in.)
>> >
>> > The US military in Iraq and Afghanistan have "rediscovered" the walking
>> > blood bank of fresh whole blood and, according to John Holcomb and
>> others,
>> > have had excellent results with this 1:1:1:1 (!) ratio. The walking
>> > blood
>> > bank in a good part of the world is the family, village, clan or tribe.
>> How
>> > much of the excellent clinical effects of this blood is due to the fact
>> > that it is fresh (and usually still warm from the donor and given soon
>> > after screening to the patient) and how much due to the fact that it is
>> > whole, is a question for research.
>> >
>> > Just wanted to add the "slight correction" concerning the "Red Cross".
>> >
>> > cheers
>> >
>> > --
>> > christos giannou
>> > Monemvasia Lakonia
>> > 23070 Greece
>> > tel & fax: (++30) 27320-61772
>> > --
>> > trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG
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>
>
>
> --
>   "There are three classes of people in the world: those who make things
> happen, those who watch things happen, and the vast majority who are not
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-- 

V/R

Forrest Robleto, NCEE
R House Health & Safety
www.RHouseTraining.com
FRobleto at RhouseTraining.com
609-792-9047

Cogito ergo es

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Red Cross: slight correction