Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The term “blood substitute” is actually a misnomer, because only a part of the
total functions of blood, that is, oxygen delivery and volume expansion only, are
replaced by any available so-called substitute. Cord blood, because of its rich mix
of fetal and adult hemoglobin, high platelet and WBC counts, and a plasma fi lled
with cytokine and growth factors, as well as its hypo-antigenic nature and altered
metabolic profi le, has all the potentialities of a real and safe alternative to adult
blood during emergencies due to any etiology of blood loss. The viscosity of cord
blood is less than that of adult blood and this may help tissue perfusion and
oxygen transfer better. No clinical, immunological, or non-immunological reac-
tions have been encountered so far in this type of transfusion. The observed tran-
sient rise of CD34 after transfusion has immense potential for immunotherapy
and for its bone marrow replenishing impact, the possibilities of which are cur-
rently under intense scientifi c scrutiny. It has, in addition, all the qualities to
prevent ischemia and eventual hypoxic-triggered organ failure syndromes. There-
fore, placental umbilical cord whole blood may actually prove to be a better blood
substitute, with additional therapeutic use, than any substitute currently in the
market.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges with gratitude the patients who volunteered for the
work. The Dept. of Science and Technology, Government of West Bengal, sup-
ported the work with a grant to the investigator (Dr Niranjan Bhattachaya) from
1999-2002. Without its support, the work presented in this chapter could not have
been done.
Dr. Niranjan Bhattacharya worked on the problem since 1999 and drafted
this chapter in its present format.
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