Shrimp-Based Bandages Save Lives

Roland Piquepaille writes "Unstoppable bleeding is one of the leading causes of death on battlefields. But now, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have a way to reduce bleeding when they're wounded. In "War Bandages," ScienCentral News writes that these new bandages contain chitosan molecules, extracted from shrimp shells. These positively charged chitosan molecules attract negatively charged red blood cells, stopping hemorrhage in one to five minutes. As said one of the co-founders of the Oregon-based company behind these bandages, "You can have a hole in your heart and 60 seconds later it's sealed." The Food and Drug Administration approved these bandages for human usage, but today they are exclusively sold to the Army. With a $90 price tag for a 4-inch-by-4-inch single bandage, would you buy them anyway? This overview contains more details and references. It also shows you how the red blood cells are attracted by the chitosan molecules."

Comments

Rural Ambulance Services

[TykeClone]

I volunteer as a driver on our rural ambulance service. The closest hospital is about 30 miles away - about a half hour or less driving time.

In the event of a vehicle or farm accident, I'd like to see these bandages available to our EMT's - all they need to do is to buy about 30 minutes.

Sure, get one for the car

[JavaRob]

I have a feeling that if I had a wound that would *require* this kind of bandage, I'd be incapacitated enough that I wouldn't be able to get to the glove box.

On the other hand, I might be able to save someone else's life. We've all heard about the staggering numbers of deaths in auto accidents... I wonder if a percentage of those might not have been fatalities if the EMT's (or other drivers) had materials like this.

It might also be worth it for people with blood clotting problems, who (without proper care) could bleed to death from a bad papercut. Does it work for them?

Shellfish!

[AllMightyPaul]

Will it work if you're allergic to shell-fish? That's what I want to know.

Re:Handy and effective way to stop bleeding

[Nutria]

Correction: the said co-owner does not have a heart (otherwise he would not be making such a killing with those exclusive overpriced bandages) and thus his little chest-stabbing PR stunt resulted in only a minor self-inflicted cutaneous injury.

You self-righteous, brainless shit.

John Holcomb has been working on this for 12 years, with no big company that has other income streams to fund the research.

Also, do you know how diffucult it is to create these bandages? Neither do I. Maybe it costs $70/bandage to specially refine the chemical and create the bandage. After all, if it were easy, it wouldn't have taken 12 years.

Besides, the Pentagon probably thinks that a $90 silver bullet to reduce the mortality rate by 10% is an incredible bargain. And these bandages will reduce the amount of work that doctors will have to do to repair wounds, meaning that they can treat more personnel, and less blood loss means that there will be less systemic damage, and less need for blood transfusions, people will heal quicker, etc, etc, etc...