Pulmonary hypertension, overriding aorta, and pulmonary atresia are a few of the health obstacles in little Maddie's life. She has undergone 11 procedures, including three open-heart surgeries, to correct her cardiovascular defects and has received the lifesaving gift of blood with each of her surgeries.
By Billie Rubin, Hemoglobin's Catabolic Cousin, reporting from the labs of Stanford Blood Center
Red, the color of blood, was once thought to have magical powers. Cro-Magnon man painted the sick and dead red, hoping to contain the life force. Early Egyptians painted their bodies with blood to ward off sickness. Later, pastes and dyes were substituted in the practice - a forerunner of makeup. In early England, red coverings were put on beds to treat smallpox, and strips of red cloth were used as cures for scarlet fever.
By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center
Medicine and murder were two words I did not expect to see together in the title of an NPR talk on the history of blood transfusions. Holly Tucker, a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, was going about her usual business as she researched information for a class lecture on the discovery of blood circulation by an English physician in the 1620s. What she uncovered, purely by accident, led to her book about the history of blood transfusions, "Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution".
By John Williams, Marketing Manager, Stanford Blood Center
In 2009, during the height of the recession, Stanford Blood Center ran a promotion in which blood donors who donated during a two-week period were invited back to a career networking workshop, resume clinic, and job fair. The event, called "Giving Blood Works," was a hit with job-seekers and a win-win for the unemployed and the recipients of the life-saving blood products. And let's not overlook the benefit to the employers. After all, we like to think that someone who is willing to donate blood to help save a life must be a good job candidate!
By Billie Rubin
Towards the end of WWI, blood collection equipment consisted of a 1,000cc glass bottle with two perforated rubber stoppers. Glass tubing through each stopper was attached to rubber tubing, each with a needle at the end. One needle was for the donor, the other for the patient (probably one soldier to another), and suction was created with a syringe.
By John Williams, Marketing Manager, Stanford Blood Center
It's heartwarming when, in this time of technology-based connectivity, you see a family doing things together. In this case, Mary Sullivan and her sons Tom, Dan, Greg and Steve donated blood for the community as a family. Ironically, it was a technology-based promotion that drove this wonderful group into Stanford Blood Center that day.
By Brooke Wilson, Communications Manager, Stanford Blood Center
You're minding your business, going about your day, even doing something good for your health by popping into the gym for a workoutthen suddenly a seizure sets in and you're on the ground convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and unable to communicate. Not only has your day taken a dramatic turnbut your life may be in jeopardy. What happens next?
Hello Stanford Blood Center donors and friends! My name is Isabel Stenzel Byrnes and I'm a social worker and health educator, currently working for the Lucile Packard Pediatric Weight Control Program. I have a twin sister named Anabel, who is a genetic counselor at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. We'd like to share our personal story with you in this blog.
By Billie Rubin
In an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Dr. Christine Cserti-Gazdewich, a hematologist at the University of Toronto, educates us on the history of blood types.
By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center
At Stanford Blood Center we collect several different types of blood products from our volunteer donors. All products have different functions pre- and post-donation. In other words, before and after they leave your body, they each serve different purposes. For the scope of this article, I'll focus on red blood cells (RBCs) collected during a whole blood donation and platelets collected during an ABC donation. These are the two most common products we draw, accounting for about 99% of our total donations in a year.