Blood transfusion service (1941) Pt. 4 of 4

we in the army blood transfusion service are responsible for supplying blood to the fighting forces and we also look after civilians in the area where we bleed donors our bleeding teams go out to towns and villages and collect up to a ton of blood a day an important part of our day's work is preparing taking sets for bleeding and giving sets for transfusion all the separate parts of each set have to be cleaned and the needles resharpened every day the parts are then linked up with rubber tubing checked wrapped in cellophane packed in tin boxes and sterilized this work is done by vads and our amc privates the taking sets are then ready to go out with the bleeding teams the next day the giving sets are clipped to the side of each bottle of blood sent out of the depo blood is sent to the war fronts by air during the battle of flanders boxes of whole blood were loaded onto a special plane and flown to france within three hours of leaving britain the blood arrived at an overseas depot and was dispatched in vans to the front line but as the war spread further afield sending blood overseas became more difficult stored blood was only good for use up to 14 days this is how the problem was solved early in the war doctors began to doubt if whole blood was always necessary for transfusions this was because there are two main reasons for giving a transfusion one is that after hemorrhage the patient loses whole blood that is you will remember cells and plasma the other is that many people need a transfusion because they are suffering from shock in shock the liquid part of blood the plasma leaks out of the circulation into the tissues of the body so what the body needs is more liquid in the circulation to re-float the cells transfusions of the liquid part of blood alone that is plasma were tried and proved very successful so apparatus was set up to prepare plasma on a large scale some of the whole blood collected by the blood depos is sent to these plants here the plasma is separated from the cells and passed through various filters until it is quite clear and sterile after this it is bottled and checked again before it is sent out serum the liquid part of blood after the cells have clotted can be prepared and used in the same way liquid plasma and serum are far easier to transport than whole blood they do not require refrigerators they are not spoiled by rough handling and they keep far longer than whole blood this discovery went a long way to solve the problems both of wastage of blood and of sending it to distant countries in 1940 an even better method was developed it was found that liquid plasma and serum could be dried into a powder this is a more complicated process the liquid is put on a spinner and spun at a very low temperature until it freezes the frozen liquid is then put in a drying chamber which evaporates all the water the plasma or serum is then left as a dry powder when needed for a transfusion it is only necessary to add distilled water the powder dissolves at once and is ready for use this powder can be stored for any length of time in any climate without becoming infected the citizens of britain who volunteer again and again to give their blood to the community do not know when or where it will be used donors keep in touch with their local depots and let them know their movements they are always ready to answer a call for blood the whole complicated organization of blood supply depends on this voluntary contribution of the people wherever the forces of the empire may be supplies of whole blood and its derivatives are kept ready for use transfusions are given in beds or on stretchers in clean rooms and in hovels during the battle of flanders blood transfusions were given on the beaches of dunkirk and on boats coming home under fierce bombardment and continual dive bombing lives were saved in face of the enemy trying to destroy them the use of dried serum and plasma has revolutionized treatment of the wounded the powder was widely used for air raid casualties during the great blitz it can be carried on battleships at sea taken over mountains across tropical deserts to burn cities wherever need arises this great national blood transfusion service has been developed in war but its message will go beyond war it has been made possible by thousands of unknown men and women whose only reward for saving life is their own sense of service to humanity you