Blood

What’s artificial blood?

• Blood substitutes aim to replicate one particular job of real blood:
supplying oxygen to tissues. In other words, the goal is to find an
alternative to oxygen-carrying redblood cells that could be used
for transfusions.
Why’s it important/how does it benefit?
• Blood substitutes are more robust than regular blood and can
withstand more harsh environments such as not requiring
refrigeration and can be used in the pre-hospital
environment. Synthetic blood delivers oxygen to the body faster than
realblood which can limit bodily injury, particularly during heart
attack.
Advantages
• The main advantage with artficial hearts is that they are not rejected
by the body's immune system. This is because they're made from
metals or plastics, so the body doesn't recognise them as 'foreign' and
attack in the same way it does with living tissue
Disadvantages
• Surgery to fit an artificial heart can lead to bleeding and infection.
• Artificial hearts don't work as healthy as natural ones-parts could
wear out or the electrical motor could fail.
• Blood flow doesnt flow through artificial hearts as smoothly, which
can cause blood clots and lead to strokes.
• The patient has to take drugs to thin their blood and make sure this
doesn't happen, which can cause problems with bleeding if they're
hurt in an accident.
Current research on the topic
Conclusion