The US military’s race to make fake blood
Its call sign was Morphine 1-2. In February 2007, the hulking dual-rotor casualty evacuation helicopter had just flown three wounded soldiers to a field hospital in Balad, north of Baghdad, when another call came: an emergency mission to fly through an insurgent-controlled area in broad daylight.…
Résumé
Blood shortage crisis
The US military and civilian healthcare systems face a severe shortage of blood, which is critical for treating hemorrhage, the leading cause of preventable deaths on battlefields and maternal deaths worldwide.
In the US, about 10,000 preventable deaths occur annually due to blood shortages, with 1% of 1.2 million trauma patients receiving blood before reaching a hospital.
Globally, the figure is likely in the millions.
Whole blood lasts only 35 days when refrigerated, and separated components like platelets (lasting a week or less) and frozen red blood cells or plasma (spoiling within days after thawing) have limited shelf lives.
The military’s reliance on ‘blood runs’—emergency missions to transport blood—exposes crews to high risks, as seen in the 2007 crash of helicopter Morphine 1-2, which was transporting blood when shot down.
Lire l'analyse complète en 9 points →
Commentaires (0)
Connecte-toi pour commenter
Se connecterAucun commentaire pour le moment.
Voir aussi
Plus de contenus dans cette catégorie →Découvre plus de contenu sur Napseflow
