New Mathematical Model Shows Transfusions of Blood Substitutes Can Treat Anemic Patients, Solve Global Shortage

Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) developed a new mathematical model of the body's interacting physiological and biochemical processes that shows transfusion of blood substitutes could treat anemic patients and be more readily available, solving global blood shortage.

They described their mathematical model in the study, titled "A Model of Anemic Tissue Perfusion After Blood Transfusion Shows Critical Role of Endothelial Response to Shear Stress Stimuli," published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

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New Mathematical Model Shows Transfusions of Blood Substitutes Can Treat Anemic Patients, Solve Global Shortage

Global Blood Shortage

Blood transfusion is important because it saves lives and improves health. However, many patients that need blood transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that providing safe and adequate blood should be a necessary part of a country's national health care policy.

It can be done through blood collection, testing, storage, and distribution governed by national blood policy and legislative framework for uniform standards.

According to WHO, 40% of collected blood donations are from high-income countries wherein the median annual donation per blood center is 25,700 compared to the 1,300 in low-income countries, 4,400 in lower-middle-income countries, and 9,300 in upper-middle-income countries.

Moreover, 62 low- or middle-income countries report collecting fewer than 10 donations per 1,000 people. It shows a significant global blood shortage that needs to be solved.

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Using Blood Substitutes To Treat Anemia and Solve Global Blood Shortage

According to Medical Xpress, researchers developed a mathematical model of the body's physiological and biochemical processes of the body, including blood vessel expansion, blood thickening, and rate changes in response to the transfusion of red blood cells.

It showed that transfusions of blood substitutes could effectively treat patients with anemia and those with low oxygen levels in the blood. It is also a more readily available option for blood transfusion, which solves the global blood shortage.

The new model also showed that either abstaining from a blood transfusion or transfusing with substitutes known as plasma expanders may be a more effective way to increase oxygen delivery.

Researchers explain that plasma expanders are made from solutions of high molecular weight starch that is dissolved in normal saline. They have used plasma expanders in transfusion medicine for several decades and have proven it to be effective in laboratory experiments.

Furthermore, the team estimated that their model shows that safe and low-cost blood substitutes could decrease the overall cost of transfusion by about 10 times while also reducing its negative effects.

The team hopes that their findings could lead to clinical trials that will test the capacity of blood substitutes to increase oxygen delivery. As of now, there is not enough evidence that supports the concept of transfusing a small amount of blood to be more effective than adding human plasma.