The Danger of Blood Transfusions Essay

Submitted By Gooseman394
Words: 1718
Pages: 7
Open Document
Kenneth Guzman
James Moffit
Eng111 15DT
10/24/2012
The Danger of Blood Transfusions

In 1989 the number of diseases that blood banks tested for on a regular basis increased to five. They were Human T-lymphotropic virus 1(virus pre-leukemia), T-cell leukemia (cancer of white blood cells), syphilis, hepatitis B, AIDS and hepatitis C (WT90). Now, 23 years later blood banks have added eight new diseases that they must scan for. A blood specialist, Dr. Charles Huggins says that blood “must be considered unavoidably non-safe, it’s the most dangerous substance used in medicine” (WT90). People think a blood transfusion is just finding someone with a matching blood type and that’s it, but it’s not that simple. The patient or the patient’s guardian only thinks about the blood type, when there are hundreds of other things that fit into the equation when it comes to finding the proper match, and because of those other little things, a blood transfusions can affect someone in the long term. Meaning that the blood can be clean of any disease or virus and be a good match, but the patient’s health can still suffer to the point of death. The immediate down side to receiving blood is receiving contaminated blood. One unit of contaminated blood or 500 ml can carry enough of a virus or bacteria to infect up to 1.75 million people (WT90). Blood is broken down into four different components: red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets. Accepting the components can also be a risk for a patient due to contamination (GL08). By June of 1990 in the United States alone, 3,506 people had developed AIDS due to blood transfusions, blood components and tissue transplants. Even plasma-based clotting can be contaminated with viruses (WT90). Clotting that is used to cover a simple cut or incision. Today AIDs is not the only virus that patients need to worry about which was mentioned before. Blood banks now scan blood for eight different viruses, that if they come in contact in any way with a patient’s blood via transfusion, a cut or a component can become lethal. Accepting blood can also affect a patient in the long term as well. When that new blood, blood specific to someone else enters the blood stream, it goes through the whole cycle. It goes to the lungs, to the heart, back to the lungs, to the other members of the body and enters tissue at a microscopic level. That blood was not there before; it was made specific to someone else, using their genes and DNA as building blocks to make that life giving liquid work for a specific person. When that blood enters the body, it can stop the immune system from working up to a year. A doctor explains it as “confusing” the body because it is such a complex substance made specific to one person (WT90). To live for any amount of time without immunity from viruses, bacteria, pathogens, any single cell organism can be at very high risk. That can open the door for any amount of other sicknesses for the patient and cost them their life. Another interesting point is one Professor Neil Blumberg brings out, “We’ve been persuaded, over the years, that many of the bad things that happen to patients after surgery, are in fact, not bad luck, are not a lack of surgical skills, but are in fact, the complications of blood transfusions”. (NB2001)
The long recovery times, the unexpected complications, the emotional stress a person and their family go through, might have been caused by the lack of knowledge about accepting blood. Blood transfusion have become a basic part of the medical field, used every day in a number of health situations. People accept blood without knowing the risks and only thinking about the reward, which really is just pacifying whatever condition the person is suffering from. If the patient would analyze the risk and rewards that blood transfusions bring, they would think twice about the medical treatments that they choose and find other alternatives that can suit their needs better. As
Show More

Related Documents: The Danger of Blood Transfusions Essay

Blood Doping In Sports Research Paper

Do you agree or disagree with the use of blood doping in athletes? Why or why not? · I totally disagree with the use of blood doping in athletes, because I think it’s a form of cheating. It’s been proven to give them an advantage by enhancing their athletic performances. If any athlete uses or takes anything that will ultimately give them any kind of added advantage or enhancement is flat out cheating. If you can’t win or achieve something without your natural God given talent/gift then…

Words 770 - Pages 4

Community Consent Case Study

Discussion Question 1 Do you think that alternative forms of community consent should be actively pursued and why? I think that alternative forms of community consent should be actively pursued because it raises awareness as long as the information is shared within the community. How would you feel if your medical records were examined and included in research without your consent based on an illness in the past? For me personally as long as those records were used to benefit research and the…

Words 604 - Pages 3

Sickle Cell Essay

lungs it can cause severe illness with chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. It can cause permit damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, spleen and bones. The red blood cells can be seen when blood is examined under a microscope. Sickle Cell is diagnosed by a blood test. If the Sickle Cells block blood flow to the brain it can result in stroke. It includes seizures, weakness, or numbness of arms, and legs. Sudden speech difficulties and loss of consciousness. Skin Ulcers are…

Words 628 - Pages 3

Sickle Cell Anemia Research Paper

anemia is a hereditary disease, it’s a disorder of the blood caused by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin. The subject of this essay is about symptoms, causes, preventions, cures, treatment, and prognosis. The symptoms of sickle cell anemia are: · Fatigue and anemia · Pain crises · Ductility which is the swelling of the hands or feet · Bacterial · Infections · Splenic sequestration which is the sudden pooling of blood in the spleen, lung and heart injury · Leg ulcers…

Words 729 - Pages 3

Pros And Cons Of The Zika Virus

LATEST NEWS ABOUT ZIKA VIRUS Zika virus was first detected in 1947 in a monkey in Uganda. Since then, it was most often found along the equator from Africa into Asia. The Zika Virus was thought to be carried by infected AEDES mosquitoes and when they infect humans, the latter gets infected with the virus. A few years ago, new cases of Zika popped up in islands in the Pacific Ocean and since then, the virus has been making quite a tour from Brazil, to the USA. Initially, the Zika virus had been regarded…

Words 627 - Pages 3

Sickle Cell Anemia Essay

Sickle cell disease which in African language is translated to “state of suffering” is caused in the capillaries and slows blood flow and reduces the supply of oxygen to tissues. This disease causes a lot of pain and comes with various complications and serous dangers. Sickle cells are red blood cells that are deformed shaped like sickles (“S”) that are caused by a genetic mutation in the hemoglobin protein. This is a disease that is not contagious but is hereditary, which means it is passed down…

Words 636 - Pages 3

Hemophilia: Coagulation and Hemophilia Treatment Centers Essay

Hemophilia is a lifelong, inherited disorder that causes abnormal bleeding. It is a disorder of one’s blood-clotting system, where the plasma part of the blood does not have enough protein to help blood clot. This means that if you have hemophilia, you will bleed for a longer time if you have a cut than others that do not have hemophilia. The danger of this disorder is that one can have deep internal bleeding or bleeding into one’s joints. There are three types of hemophilia, type A, B, and C…

Words 961 - Pages 4

Cons Of Abortion Research Paper

Suction Aspiration. In this operation the doctor uses a special tool to suck the baby into a collection bottle. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being damaged, which would cause hemorrhage. A woman with hemorrhage will need a blood transfusion that could possibly cause her AIDS. Also infection may easily occur if the fetal tissue is left behind in the uterus. Another method used for babies as old as 24 weeks, is the Dilation and Evacuation. Sharp jaws are used to grasp different parts…

Words 756 - Pages 4

Embryonic Stem Cell Argumentative Essay

Did you know that recent advances in science technologies has resulted in the cure of otherwise incurable diseases? The answer to diseases such as heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, autism, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease are found from within embryonic stem cells. Embryonic Stem Cells are pluripotent cells, meaning that embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated; that they have the potential to become any type of cell in the human body. This recent…

Words 1068 - Pages 5

Outline: Hypertension and Magnesium Sulfate Essay

the following options: Preeclampsia pathophysiology Common lab tests Preeclampsia dangers Preeclampsia pathophysiology Preeclampsia progresses along a continuum from mild to severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, or eclampsia. There is no definitive cause of preeclampsia, but the pathophysiology is distinct. Preeclampsia develops after 20 weeks gestation in a previously normotensive woman. Elevated blood pressure is frequently the first sign of preeclampsia. The client also develops proteinuria…

Words 2429 - Pages 10