Canadian Blood Companies is trying to resuscitate the usage of dried plasma — a life-saving battlefield measure that helped injured troopers throughout the Second World Warfare and the Korean Warfare.
The non-profit group is partnering with the Division of Nationwide Defence on this “innovative” venture funded by Veterans Affairs Canada that can contain analysis on how one can safely produce dried blood plasma.
“Having a blood component that is dried will allow access to life-saving products in regions that’s not currently available,” Chantale Pambrun, senior medical director of innovation and portfolio administration on the Canadian Blood Companies, mentioned in an interview with International Information on Wednesday.
The objective is to have the ability to take plasma from Canadian donors, dry it in a manner that’s secure and efficient, after which transport it into a light-weight container that’s simple to hold and capable of stand up to battlefield circumstances over a protracted interval, Pambrun mentioned.
She mentioned a superb analogy for this venture is the usage of freeze-dried strawberries in cereals that may sit on the shelf for months, in contrast with recent strawberries that go unhealthy sooner within the fridge.
What that drying course of will appear like nonetheless must be decided and would require partnerships with medical gadget producers specializing in this, Pambrun mentioned.
Veterans Affairs Canada instructed International Information in an e mail {that a} grant of as much as $1.939 million over three years might be offered to CBS for this venture.
What are the advantages of dried blood?
In the course of the Second World Warfare, freeze-drying know-how for serum was developed by Canadian researchers and broadly used within the battlefield. Serum is a element of plasma (part of blood containing essential clotting proteins that assist cease bleeding).
Pambrun mentioned dried plasma may be reconstituted by including sterile water.
CBS mentioned in a information launch Wednesday that dried plasma “can be much more easily administered on the battlefield as it can be stored at room temperature and requires less storage space, meaning that soldiers can carry it into combat for medics to administer on the spot.”
This might additionally lower the present reliance on frozen plasma, which is troublesome to retailer and takes time to thaw and administer.
In keeping with the U.Ok.’s Nationwide Well being Service (NHS), “frozen plasma currently takes an average of 20 minutes to thaw and transporting it poses major logistical challenges, including requiring a freezer and specialist equipment.”
Dried plasma has an extended shelf life, with research exhibiting that it could actually last as long as 4 years in a room-temperature setting in contrast with frozen plasma, which may last as long as one yr, Pambrun mentioned.
Since dried plasma is dehydrated, it’s also much less cumbersome and extra compact to hold in a battle zone, she mentioned.
After the Korean Warfare, manufacturing of freeze-dried serum was discontinued due to issues about viral hepatitis transmission. Pambrun mentioned the CBS venture is trying to mitigate any infectious dangers by rigorous security measures, together with assessing donor threat components.
Canada is just not the one nation contemplating the usage of dried blood plasma in navy operations.
The U.Ok.’s defence ministry additionally launched a venture final yr that goals to ship dried blood and plasma inside half-hour of damage to troopers in energetic struggle zones.
By utilizing spray know-how, the NHS is hoping dried plasma is also used to deal with civilians by air ambulances sooner or later.
Whereas the Canadian venture remains to be in its preliminary levels, Pambrun mentioned the rollout of dried plasma may additionally profit the nation’s civilian inhabitants, particularly in pre-hospital take care of folks residing in distant areas.
Domestically, the nationwide provide of blood donations is “at risk of falling short” as blood product donations aren’t maintaining with the fast rise in demand throughout Canada, in line with CBS.
