Mathematical Model Finds Substitute for Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is part of a doctor’s treatment to save the lives of patients who lack blood due to accidents or are suffering from certain diseases. Patients with anemia or blood with low oxygen levels, can be treated effectively with blood replacement transfusions.
Although blood transfusions are effective in saving human lives, their supply is sometimes very limited. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, blood donations have decreased because people are afraid to leave the house.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), are trying to overcome blood scarcity by creating a mathematical model that could be useful in dealing with blood replacement fluids. In this study, it is devoted to anemia sufferers who have low oxygen levels, which can be treated with blood replacement transfusions.
They created a new mathematical model for the physiological and biochemical interactions of the body which include aspects of blood vessel dilation, blood coagulation and changes in flow rate in response to red blood cell transfusions, so that patients with anemia or have blood with low oxygen levels can be treated. effectively with blood substitute transfusions that will be readily available.
The study, published Oct. 14 in the Journal of Applied Physiology, used a different fluid to eliminate the harmful consequences of blood transfusions. The results of the study stated that blood transfusions caused side effects in the form of a decrease in age of up to 6 percent per unit transfused per decade.
“Instead of using real blood, we can use substitutes that can lower costs and eliminate the negative effects of blood transfusions,” said study lead author Weiyu Li, a doctoral student in energy resources engineering at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford). Earth) as quoted in the October 19 issue of Science Daily.
Li explained that in anemic patients, transfusion is a common procedure to transfer blood components directly into the patient’s circulation. Red blood cells are uniquely equipped with an oxygen-carrying function, which is why they are used for transfusion for anemic patients who have a lack of oxygen in their blood.
But the process of getting, storing, and sending the correct and clean blood type for each patient, also requires intensive and expensive treatment. In addition, the available blood supply is very far from demand, resulting in a deficit. Globally the shortage reaches about 100 million units of blood per year.
“You can deliver more oxygen, with less effort, that’s actually the basic idea of ​​sustainability,” said senior study author Daniel Tartakovsky, a professor of energy resources engineering at the Stanford Earth institute.

Alternative Fluids
Red blood cell transfusions are performed to increase the chances of delivering oxygen which is vital for organ and tissue function. But the problem is, the process has an impact on blood coagulation, so it has an impact on increasing the viscosity value.
A new mathematical model shows that during a transfusion, some of the patient’s blood vessels do not dilate. In addition, the patient’s blood is thickened by additional red blood cells, so the blood is not easily circulated which is useful in delivering oxygen.
By transfuse alternative fluids instead of blood called plasma expanders can dilate blood vessels. This method is considered more effective to increase oxygen delivery in anemic patients.
Plasma expanders consist of a high molecular weight starch solution dissolved in a normal saline solution. This substance has been used in transfusion medicine for decades and has been shown to be effective in experimental studies.
“Currently, blood transfusions are determined by addressing the wrong target, namely restoring oxygen-carrying capacity,” said co-author Marcos Intaglietta, a professor and founder of the discipline of biotechnology at UCSD. “But the logical target of a blood transfusion is to restore oxygen delivery capacity,” he added.
The team’s projected results show that a safe and inexpensive blood substitute could lower the overall cost of blood transfusions by up to 10 times. In addition, it significantly reduces the negative aspects of the process. hi/I-1