Freeze-Dried Blood May Save Soldiers' Lives

SpaceAdmiral writes "An Israeli company is working on a method to freeze-dry blood. This would enable soldiers to carry a packet of their own blood on the battlefield. If a soldier is injured and needs blood, medics could mix the dried blood with water and give the soldier a transfusion of his or her own blood. From the article: 'The idea is to take a soldier's blood, freeze it in laboratory conditions, take out the ice crystals leaving only the blood components. It will look like freeze-dried coffee in a little bag.'"

Comments

Murder mystery

[Short Circuit]

Sounds like the makings of a murder mystery. Hate a guy? Give him freeze-dried blood of a different type than what he's compatible with.

Re:Two technologies

[TubeSteak]

Polyheme also happens to be the stuff that they tested on accident victims without consent .

They used it in ambulances under some exception to the general rule requiring informed consent for clinical trials.

You can read more about it by poking around Google
http://www.google.com/search?q=polyheme+consent
There was a big ethical brouhaha when the testing made the papers.

So, when you say "final stages of field testing" you really mean
"used on accident victims without their permission."

Re:Two technologies

[andrewman327]

Actually, that is exactly what I meant. As an EMT I am required to know the law. People's lives were saved in these informed consent trials. The people who really need this stuff are in no position to sign anything. It is designed for people who will die without it, so what's the problem?