New hemoglobin substitutes
1Department of Anesthesiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology
|October 3, 2006
Abstract:
Blood transfusion is an essential and ubiquitous component of medical therapy. Despite careful screening and processing, allogeneic blood still carries a small but definable risk of the transmission of severe viral disease and the induction of immunological reactions. The logistics of its storage and transport continue to present a challenge, and its dependence on human donors will always keep it a scarce resource. It is not surprising that in the latter half of the 20th century efforts to develop blood substitutes have gained increasing momentum.
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