Blood, A Legendary History of Medicine and Commerce

Essence and symbol of life– feared, revered, mythologized, and used in magic and medicine from earliest times– human blood is now the center of a huge, deceptive, and typically harmful worldwide commerce. It is a commerce whose impact upon humanity competitors that of any other organization– millions of lives have been saved by blood and its different derivatives, and 10s of countless lives have been lost. Douglas Starr tells how this became, in a sweeping history that ranges through the centuries. With the dawn of science, blood became seen as a component of human anatomy, efficient in being separated, studied, utilized. Starr describes the very first recorded transfusion: In the seventeenth century, one of Louis XIV’s court doctors transfers the blood of a calf into a madman to “cure” him. At the turn of the twentieth century a young scientist in Vienna determines the basic blood groups, taking the primary step toward effective transfusion. Then a New York medical professional discovers a way to stop blood from clotting, consequently making all transfusion possible. In the 1930 s, a Russian doctor, in grisly improvisation, successfully uses cadaver blood to help living patients– and realizes that blood can be saved. The first blood bank is soon running in Chicago. Throughout World War II, scientists, driven by battleground needs, break down blood into usable elements that are more quickly stored and transported. This “fractionation” procedure– achieved by a Harvard team– produces a host of pharmaceuticals, setting the stage for the worldwide marketplace to come. Plasma, specifically due to the fact that it can be made into lasting drugs, is delivered and traded for revenue; today it is a $5 billion service. The author recounts the tragic spread of HELP through the distribution of contaminated blood items, and describes why and how related scandals have erupted worldwide. He looks at the most current efforts to make synthetic blood. Douglas Starr has actually written a cutting-edge book that tackles a topic of universal and urgent value and explores the dangers and guarantees that lie ahead.

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