This is the podcast, ICU rounds.

My name is Dr. Jeffrey Guy.

I'm an associate professor of surgery and director at the Burns Center at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.

Welcome back to the podcast.

The topic that we're going to discuss today is that of artificial blood and blood products.

These have been a topic of discussions, particularly around issues of transfusion shortages that typically occur in around the summertime,

as also with the logistical complications and difficulties of providing

blood and blood products in austere environments, such would be the treatment of combat casualties

or an example of what's happening in the treatment of survivors in Haiti.

Prior to really jumping on to the topic of use of artificial blood products,

we really need to take an analysis of transfusion practices, and that is when do we give blood.

And we've talked to another podcast that there's a difference in the use of volume expansion

versus providing blood or blood products that when you use a crystalloid

solution, you're trying to increase intravascular volume, treat a hypo or under hydrated state.

But when administering blood or blood products, what you're doing is you're basically trying to

provide a carrier for oxygen in the

treatment of peripheral shock.

And the transfusion practices are moving target.

It's important to realize that when you provide transfused blood, that the blood that you

provide is not normal for a variety of reasons.

And we've talked about it as another podcast on blood component therapy.

But first of all, things such as 2.3DPG, a molecule that helps oxygen offloading and associated

...