Blood Transfusion News and Research

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Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery.

MRI can identify placenta accreta in pregnant women, reveals study

A study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) revealed that MRI is a highly accurate means of identifying placenta accreta, a potentially life-threatening and increasingly common condition that is the leading cause of death for women just before and after giving birth.

1 Dec 2009

Financial results for the third-quarter reported by China Biologic Products

China Biologic Products, Inc. ("China Biologic," or the "Company"), one of the leading plasma-based biopharmaceutical companies in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), operating through its indirect majority- owned subsidiaries, Shandong Taibang Biological Products Co. Ltd. ("Taibang") and Guiyang Dalin Biologic Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Dalin") and its equity investment in Xi'an Huitian Blood Products Co., Ltd. ("Huitian"), today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

24 Nov 2009

NHLBI-supported research shares new strategies on hypertension, heart defect and air pollution

New education strategies for better controlling hypertension and research suggesting a possible link between short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution and increased risk of constricted blood vessels are among the research highlights from studies supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Sessions in Orlando held Nov. 14-18.

20 Nov 2009

Verax Platelet PGD test receives FDA clearance

Fenwal, Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Verax Platelet PGD® test as a quality control test to detect bacterial contamination in whole blood-derived, pooled platelets prior to transfusion. Fenwal is the exclusive global distributor of the test, which was developed by Verax Biomedical of Worcester, Mass.

18 Nov 2009

FDA provides marketing clearance for the Platelet PGD Test System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing the Platelet PGD Test System, the first rapid test for the detection of bacterial contamination in pooled platelets derived from whole blood.

16 Nov 2009

New reversible blood thinner for angioplasty patients not superior over placebo

A new reversible blood thinner for angioplasty patients wasn't superior over placebo for its primary combined endpoint of heart attack, all-cause mortality and need for revascularization, but it reduced mortality and in-stent blood clots, researchers reported in a late-breaking clinical trial presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009.

16 Nov 2009

Amorfix Life Sciences reports operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2009

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on misfolded protein diseases, today reported its second quarter operating results and provided an update on the Company's diagnostic and therapeutic programs.

13 Nov 2009

Anemia-reducing medications linked to deep vein thrombosis in cancer patients

Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. The findings will be published online on Nov. 10, 2009 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (ahead of the Dec. 2, 2009 print edition).

11 Nov 2009

Amorfix Life Sciences achieves 100% specificity in using EP-vCJD Blood Screening Assay

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for misfolded protein diseases, today announced it has achieved 100% specificity (no reproducible false positive results) upon testing 19,000 blood donations for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ("vCJD") with the EP-vCJD(TM) Blood Screening Assay at l'Etablissement Français du Sang de Pyrénées Méditerrannée ("EFS-PM") in Montpellier, France.

29 Oct 2009

NIH awards $1.4 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to BloodCenter of Wisconsin

BloodCenter of Wisconsin (BCW) today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $1.4 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to fund continued research into the deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enhance safety and reduce hospital costs related to the collection, manufacture and transfusion of blood products. The NIH grant allows the first-ever research into the potential clinical and financial benefits of RFID technology for automatic identification, tracking, and status monitoring of blood and blood products across the entire transfusion medicine supply chain.

24 Oct 2009

Study reveals a dramatic increase in TTB cases

Babesiosis is a potentially dangerous parasitic disease transmitted by ticks and is common in the Northeast and the upper Midwest. Babesia lives inside of red blood cells, meaning it can also be transmitted through a blood transfusion from an infected but otherwise asymptomatic blood donor.

21 Oct 2009

MIRP surgery carries higher risk of impotence and incontinence than traditional surgery

A new study debating the effectiveness of minimally invasive prostate surgery is not telling the whole story, warns Dr. David B. Samadi, Chief of the Division of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Department of Urology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

21 Oct 2009

Stem cell treatments could repair the kidney defects associated with Alport syndrome

Several cell-based therapy approaches could provide new treatments for patients with Alport syndrome, reports an upcoming paper in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "Our study opens up many considerations of how new therapies related to the use of stem cells can be devised for our kidney patients with chronic disease," comments Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA).

19 Oct 2009

Measures taken by Memorial Blood Centers to stay prepared for the spread of H1N1 virus

Memorial Blood Centers today outlined steps the organization is taking to stay prepared for the spread of the H1N1 virus and to ensure a safe experience for blood donors and an ample blood supply for our communities.

7 Oct 2009

First heart surgery using MECC system completed

MAQUET Cardiovascular announced today that Johannes Bonatti, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Director of Coronary Surgery and Advanced Coronary Interventions at the University of Maryland Heart Center in Baltimore, has completed the world's first use of the MAQUET Minimized ExtraCorporeal Circulation (MECC) system during a successful robotic and fully endoscopic heart surgery. The new cardiopulmonary bypass technology is the first major advancement in perfusion technology in the last decade. It is designed to minimize the effects of traditional heart surgery and aid in minimally-invasive heart surgery without the need to stop the patient's heart from beating.

28 Sep 2009

No medical errors in the month of July as widely believed: Study

New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons challenges the widely held belief that more medical errors occur in teaching hospitals during the month of July due to the influx of new graduates from medical and nursing schools - also known as the "July Phenomenon." The study shows no differences in in-hospital mortality rates, number of days in the intensive care unit (ICU) or on ventilator support, or minutes spent undergoing resuscitation for trauma patients in July compared with results for other months of the year.

25 Sep 2009

Amorfix Life Sciences to present Amorfix's EP-vCJD blood screening test for vCJD at WFH Global Forum

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases, announced today that its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. George Adams, will present Amorfix's EP-vCJD(TM) blood screening test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ("vCJD") at the Sixth World Federation of Hemophilia ("WFH") Global Forum on the Safety and Supply of Treatment Products for Bleeding Disorders in Montreal, Quebec at 11:00 am ET on Friday, September 25, 2009.

24 Sep 2009

Amorfix announces 100% specificity upon testing 10,000 blood donations for vCJD

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases, today announced it has achieved 100% specificity (no reproducible false positive results) upon testing 10,000 blood donations for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ("vCJD"). with the EP-vCJD(TM) Blood Screening Assay at l'Etablissement Français du Sang de Pyrénées Méditerrannée ("EFS-PM") in Montpellier, France.

22 Sep 2009

Tregs to set the pace of recovery after serious lung injury

After more than 50 experiments in mice, medical scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out the basic steps taken by a particular set of white blood cells in setting the pace of recovery after serious lung injury.