High dose of human recombinant erythropoietin two days pre-op benefits cardiac surgery patients

WEDNESDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- A single high dose of human recombinant erythropoietin (HRE) administered two days before cardiac surgery is associated with reduced need for transfused blood, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, held from May 4 to 8 in Minneapolis.

Recently doctors in Chennai have successfully transplanted a child with cancer from his mother's stem cells in the first Haploidentical transplant of the country. This news definitely brings cheers to the numerous families who are suffering from one or the other disorder that can be cured only by transplants. In India, it is extremely difficult to find a donor for a person who needs a transplant because of the very limited number of people who have enrolled so far in bone marrow registries.

Vikram is the first ever recipient of Haploidentical transplant in the country

When a 10-year-old has cancer, the boy’s family and doctors obviously have to do everything under the sun to find a cure for him. That is what parents and doctors of Vikram (name changed) of Madurai did. The hunt was on to find a 100 per cent matching donor, and when that failed, they found one that was a half match.

Vikram got a bone marrow transplant with a 50 per cent match from his mother. He survives to tell the tale today, speaking over a surgical mask.

The fact that there is shortage of blood during summers is well established. Year after year scores of blood bankers complain about the lack of blood donation drives during the months of April-June. How can this trend be changed? Offering incentives to people if they donate blood?