[edit] Erythropoietin (EPO)

What is erythropoietin (EPO)? What is recombinant human erythropoietin? How is it made? What is it used for? Does it contain blood fractions? What risks or side-effects are there? Would you consider this medical treatment if you are anemic or you were considering a surgical procedure that might involve considerable blood loss? You will find the answers to these questions, as well as other important information in our feature topic: Erythropoietin (EPO).

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[edit] Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution (ANH)

What is Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution? How was it developed? How is it done? What are some of the pros and cons of its use, and in what ways can it be modified for certain patient populations? Would you consider this medical technique if you were considering a surgical procedure that might involve considerable blood loss? Find out why there is controversy among anesthesiologists over whether this technique really is worth using, or not.

[edit] PBS documentary Knocking - Jehovah's Witnesses and Blood

Because we at NoBlood are deeply committed to the mission of providing a knowledge base and center for resources related to blood conservation, avoidance, and bloodless medicine, we are always on the lookout for unbiased and informative articles and other media that would serve to contribute in a positive way to the community. NoBlood has been granted special permission from the producers of Knocking, an upcoming PBS documentary, to reprint an excerpt from the printed study guide that accompanies the DVD. This excerpt is entitled "Jehovah's Witnesses and Blood", and presents an unbiased discussion of the role Jehovah's Witnesses have played in the development of bloodless medicine. Please note, also, under the subheading "Religion and Medicine" it is aptly noted that the Witnesses have not been the only religious group to take exception to certain medical products or treatments.

[edit] Our latest top 30 viewed pages

In order to serve you better, it helps to understand what our users find interesting. We have taken a snapshot of 30 most viewed pages at NoBlood during the first 27 days of December 2006.

[edit] Take a ride on the RSS train!

Take a ride on the RSS train! Join us as we embark on a journey that will lead us away from our overflowing and cluttered (In / JUNK) boxes (what's in YOUR Inbox?) that sap our patience and productivity to a world of peace and tranquility. Well, we'll have to wait a bit for the peace and tranquility. Together, we will learn how to be more informed, productive and organized in the time we spend on the web.

All aboard! :)

[edit] Prepare Now For a Possible Medical Emergency

Perhaps no one in recent memory has gained so much notoriety because of a lack of something than Terri Schiavo. What did she lack? Something that many people also do not have. She never prepared an Advance Directive stating her wishes concerning how she wanted to be treated medically in the event that she could not speak for herself. Had she done so, the fifteen-year-long, agonizing, life and death controversy that roused the American public, its lawyers, doctors, and politicians to heated debate, would most likely have been averted. Her story has much to teach the rest of us. Do you have an Advance Directive? Have you prepared a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare or a Living Will? Do you know what legal purposes these documents serve, and why you should have them? In today’s complex and legalistic health care system, it is vital that every adult prepare and carry one or preferably both of these documents in case of a medical emergency. Make your health care team — and everyone else involved — smile. Let us help you get yours done today.

[edit] Epidural Blood Patch (EBP)

Is it really a patch? What is it used for? How is it done? If you don’t accept blood transfusions, would you have a problem with the EBP? This brief procedure, which is performed by an anesthesiologist, is explained in detail in this article. Such information is valuable to help interested readers develop their own answers to the latter question. Feel free to access all of the resources on Epidural Blood Patch: the main Wiki article, the section in our developing article entitled “Patients Who Refuse Blood Transfusion – FAQs”, and the NoBlood forum thread.

[edit] Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Road Map

We are currently creating a comprehensive, yet concise, Bloodless Medicine and Surgery "Road Map". This Road Map will help members and visitors quickly navigate the growing wealth of information related to blood conservation and avoidance. For example, over the past 10 years, NoBlood has accumulated thousands of discussions and articles related to bloodless medicine and surgery. This Road Map will facilitate the tagging of this collective knowledge and expertise as well as future resources around discrete topics. With this Road Map in hand, we are confident you will find traveling the bloodless road richly rewarding and productive. Please feel free to click [edit] to suggest an adjustment. Don't worry about the format. Others will come behind you to further 'refine' your contribution.

[edit] Get Involved!

We know. Everyone wants you to get involved with their gig. But you are reading this because you like what you see on NoBlood. Maybe one of your family members needed urgent assistance with locating bloodless medical care. Maybe you needed to know what procedures might be involved during your upcoming surgery. Maybe you just had some research to do for a class, or just out of curiosity...and you found the answer here.. People who know bloodless medicine were here to help you. Now, you can give something back to NoBlood. We want YOUR input, experience, enthusiasm, knowledge, or critical eye (can you spell? we NEED your editorial skills!).

"But," you protest, "I am not a doctor or a nurse. What do I know about this subject?" That is exactly the reason we want you to keep reading. Remember, NoBlood is a community. Every member of NoBlood has valuable talents and experience to contribute. Let us show you how! Check out our Wiki article “Get Involved!” which discusses the various ways you can help which only take a few minutes a day (less time than it takes to read one news or sports article). On our NoBlood forum thread "Get Involved", you can find some examples of specific members who have been able to give their time and talents in various ways. For example, it was a pleasure working with Doctor Loubser, an anesthesiologist, who compiled, with the assistance of our Editorial Team, one of our latest articles entitled, Epidural Blood Patch. He literally added further refinements to the article in between calls to the OR! So if he can find time, you can too! Imagine being one of the members mentioned in the next post. You can do it! As always, thank you for helping to make NoBlood the number one Site on the web for sharing bloodless healthcare knowledge and expertise.

[edit] Thanks to you, we're growing!

For those of you who are curious, this page is dedicated to sharing key statistics as to the level of use of NoBlood. Lewis Carroll is quoted as saying: “If you want to inspire confidence, give plenty of statistics. It does not matter that they should be accurate, or even intelligible, as long as there is enough of them.” In this case, our purpose in presenting Site statistics is to make you aware of the increasing use of NoBlood and the increasing need for assistance in various ways as to accommodate this growth. In other words, we need your help! Building and maintaining a website that, in the last five months, averaged over 2,900 visits a day is a serious undertaking. Not only are expenses mounting but there is growing need for helping hands to assist in the various editorial and technical work involved in providing this resource. Please Get Involved!

In the weeks to come, we will share further statics as well as explain what they mean.

[edit] Please Support NoBlood Today!

The end of the year is upon us. It is exactly the right time for all of us who have not yet done so to make a contribution to NoBlood. The impressive growth of our site cannot happen without certain financial outlays. Please set aside a few dollars to support the increasing expenditures that make it possible for this to be the most comprehensive and well-presented bloodless health care site on the Web. You know this can only happen with everyone's contributions, not just left up to a few long-time die-hards to bear alone. We want to recognize and support the efforts of those who work hard and spend not only time but money on behalf of all of our interests - not just with sentimental words of thanks ("Keep warm and well-fed..."), but with responsible financial contributions.

Let your minds be made reasonable and your hearts receptive. We all know it needs to be taken care of. If you haven't done it at least once, do it. There's a link in the upper right corner of each page of the Wiki and the Forum. It says "Your continued donations keep NoBlood running." Click it. I have. As a matter of fact, I just did it again. Join me.

[edit] Intraoperative blood salvage

What is a “cell saver”? How does it work? Is it new technology? If you have to have surgery involving anticipated blood loss, how can using this process benefit you? How safe is it? In short, you can actually have your own blood suctioned, cleaned, and reinfused into your body in a continuous circuit during your operation, which maximizes the amount of blood available to your tissues that might otherwise have been lost during the surgery.

In this article compiled by medical professionals, the entire process is described and diagrammed step by step, and other methods of intraoperative blood salvage are also discussed. If you are someone who prefers not to accept donor blood, or may have religious reasons not to have blood or blood components transfused during or after surgery, you will be interested in reading about this technique. The article also includes references to medical journals and other sources of information for those wishing to pursue the subject in further depth.

[edit] Patients Who Refuse Blood Transfusions - FAQs

In the complex world of medical care, there are people who, for various reasons, will not accept certain treatments or medications. Against the advice of their doctors and family, some choose to refuse or discontinue chemotherapy for cancer, even though they know the likelihood that their death may be imminent without the treatment.

Some concerned parents, whether due to religious or other objections, choose not to allow their children to receive immunizations others consider routine, even vital. Other people refuse to accept blood transfusions, even if such might prolong their life in an emergency. Many of the latter are Jehovah’s Witnesses, who assert a Bible-based objection to taking blood into their bodies.

What are some of the reasons that health care providers may encounter for Witnesses accepting or rejecting treatments or medications involving blood? Do all Witnesses make the same decisions? If not, why not? Physicians may experience understandable perplexity and frustration when, for example, one hemorrhaging Witness patient is willing to accept Factor VII, and one is not. For similar reasons, non-Witness family members and the general public may mistakenly perceive that Witnesses' choices are frivolous and even hypocritical...when in fact the choices they make are guided by individual conscience. Like any other human being, the dictates of conscience on certain matters may differ between individuals who nonetheless hold earnestly to the same religious precepts.

With a view toward assisting physicians to better understand this issue, the NoBlood Team has started an ongoing Wiki project to discover and catalogue various reasons Witness patients might give for accepting or refusing various medications and treatments involving blood. This project is in the beginning stages, but is expected to evolve and develop with the help of health care professionals and others interested who may have a sincere interest in making positive contributions to this effort. We invite you to learn more here.

[edit] Polyheme

There are no products on the medical market that are capable of carrying oxygen to the body’s tissues similar to the way blood does. However, some of the most clinically successful products are made from human red blood cells. These are called Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers, or HBOCs. One of these has recently completed Phase III clinical trials amidst quite a bit of controversy over how the trials were conducted. It is called Polyheme®.

Would you like to learn how the product is made and how it is used? You can add to your knowledge in the field of blood replacement products by reading our article on Polyheme®.

[edit] Blood Fractions Guide

Considerable confusion exists around the nature of pharmaceutical preparation, risk factors and component content. Questions arise about which drugs have at least some trace of a blood component in them? Why are these drugs becoming more common? What is the percent of blood fraction used in these compounds?

[edit] We Need Your Help!

That's right, NoBlood is nothing without you. We depend on our community to ensure that the information is accurate and complete. The best error checking system is a lot of people who are interested in the integrity of the information. That's where you come in. We need you to help improve accuracy and completeness, and we've tried to make it as easy as possible for you.

But really, you're helping everyone else. When you make an improvement, you're improving the information for the next person who looks at it. It only takes a little bit of effort to let us know something needs to be fixed, or to fix it yourself.

We really appreciate everything our members do for us, so thank you. Every time you correct a typo or change a word to the correct word, you're making this site a better place for everyone else that uses it.

If you have a passion for this topic and can commit an hour a week or a few minutes a day, please contact us at Personnel@noblood.org. We would really appreciate your help! See also Get Involved!