RECYCLING BLOOD: British scientists have developed a machine which can recycle blood.

That would be a huge change for procedures during high blood loss surgery.

It is a quantum leap in recycling blood in emergency operations. It may replace the existing method of administering a transfusion.

That is a medical breakthrough in blood transfusions – and not least for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Their faith prohibits them from ingesting or donating blood. So, a gadget which rules out the need for transfusions could help save more JW lives through surgical care.

The life changing technology could also reduce the UK’s dependency for donated blood. In turn, that could save the National Health Service around ten million pounds each year.

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Hemosep Blood Filtering System

The blood filtering cell salvage device is also called the Hemosep. It gets based on the original idea of a professor of biomedical engineering at Strathclyde University.

The machine collects, stores, and then transfuses the patient’s own blood. That reduces the need for donor blood. Thus, there is less risk for contamination and rejection.

This particular blood recovery machine uses a plastic membrane to filter and collect plasma. It also collects red blood cells, platelets, and clotting factor enzymes.

The apparatus operates in one continuous loop. That means the patient’s blood never leaves the circulatory system of their body.

In recent trials, the Hemosep got used in life saving surgery for a 50 year old female Jehovah’s Witness. She only agreed to undergo major heart surgery because surgeons persuaded her that it can now take place with the blood filtering machine instead of a blood transfusion.

Thus, Jehova’s Witnesses can receive hospital emergency procedures without receiving any blood products.

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