# True Blood?



## LimaOscarSierraTango (May 12, 2010)

http://www.northfieldlabs.com/polyheme.html

Wiki states:


> PolyHeme is a temporary oxygen-carrying blood substitute made from human hemoglobin  that is currently in development for emergency treatment of trauma situations where large volumes of blood are lost, with emphasis on situations where fresh blood for transfusion is not readily available. It originally began as a military  project following the Vietnam war and is currently being developed by Northfield Laboratories, Inc.



Apparently Phase III trials are complete.  With a 12-month shelf life and no refrigeration needed, it seems like a great product.  I wonder what the maximum recommended temperature is on this though...  

Anyone in this group have any further info on this?


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## Muppet (May 12, 2010)

Yea, we (EMS) tested this during trauma situations. It proved to be useless / apparentlly it causes allergic reactions and edema resulting in brain swelling. It seams like a good idea but it was abandoned in our county.

F.M.


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## LimaOscarSierraTango (May 12, 2010)

That's good to know!

If I remember correctly, the only issues I had read about were people going into cardiac arrest.  Thanks for the info.  It will be nice if they get something like this squared away!


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## 8'Duece (May 13, 2010)

Firemedic said:


> Yea, we (EMS) tested this during trauma situations. It proved to be useless / apparentlly it causes allergic reactions and edema resulting in brain swelling. It seams like a good idea but it was abandoned in our county.
> 
> F.M.



Based on this comment then I would say that there is a Homeostatic positive or negative imbalance with the use of this PolyHeme. 

Just a guess with enuf knowledge to get me into trouble.


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## Muppet (May 17, 2010)

Yea, hyperosmolar I think, I will verify @ a later date.

F.M.


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## DoctorDoom (Jun 29, 2010)

Increased rates of myocardial infarction and increased rate of MORTALITY in the first Phase III trial; been in development for eleven years.

Don't hold your breath fellas.


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## x SF med (Jun 29, 2010)

DoctorDoom said:


> Increased rates of myocardial infarction and increased rate of MORTALITY in the first Phase III trial; been in development for eleven years.
> 
> Don't hold your breath fellas.


 
Isn't there a problem with lysing the platelets and the thrombocytic reaction causing essentially a sytemic 'clot'?  or was that an earlier version of a similar product.


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## Muppet (Jun 29, 2010)

x SF med said:


> Isn't there a problem with lysing the platelets and the thrombocytic reaction causing essentially a sytemic 'clot'?  or was that an earlier version of a similar product.



As far as I know, that was the issue, systemic clots causing multi organ failure.

F.M.


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## DoctorDoom (Jul 2, 2010)

I don't think that was the problem.  It did not cause platelet destruction or DIC, but rather specifically myocardial infarction, based on ECG changes and troponin elevation.  And renal damage was comparable and not statistically significant.  It's not clear that MSOF due to DIC was an issue at all.  My memory may be faulty, but I do have the original Journal of the American College of Surgeons article somewhere, and I think the platelet lysis and DIC may have been the problem with Hemopure, another product.


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## Muppet (Jul 2, 2010)

DoctorDoom said:


> I don't think that was the problem.  It did not cause platelet destruction or DIC, but rather specifically myocardial infarction, based on ECG changes and troponin elevation.  And renal damage was comparable and not statistically significant.  It's not clear that MSOF due to DIC was an issue at all.  My memory may be faulty, but I do have the original Journal of the American College of Surgeons article somewhere, and I think the platelet lysis and DIC may have been the problem with Hemopure, another product.


 
Thats right, Hemopure. I think that what caused the clotting issues. I was mixed up. Thanks for the info doc!

F.M.


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## LimaOscarSierraTango (Jul 8, 2010)

Lets see how this one pans out.



> More troops than ever are surviving their battlefield injuries, often overloading the military’s health care system. Massive blood shortages continue to plague military trauma care, and the problem is complicated by the remote, inaccessible locations of today’s war zones.
> 
> In 2008, Darpa, the Pentagon’s blue-sky research arm, launched the Blood Pharming program, with the goal of manufacturing mega doses of universal-donor red blood units (O-negative) using a compact, self-contained system. “Pharming” is the process of genetically engineering animals or plants to generate mass quantities of medically useful substances, like hormones or antibodies. In this case, Darpa wants a synthetic platform that’s engineered to cultivate blood cells.
> 
> ...



SOURCE


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