How many of you have heard of "PolyHeme"? If you haven't click here to inform yourself, it's incredible...

Question

PolyHeme® is a human hemoglobin-based temporary oxygen-carrying red blood cell substitute in development for the treatment of urgent, large volume blood loss in trauma and resultant surgical settings, with a particular focus on settings where blood is not immediately available.

PolyHeme® is a solution of chemically modified human hemoglobin which simultaneously restores lost blood volume and hemoglobin levels and is designed for rapid, massive infusion.

In other words...fake blood!!!

It might sound great by the description above, but the truth is that it has killed many people, and most of the people who didn't die instantly suffered of a heart attack, stroke, or a different disorder. I bet that now you wish you never got this fake blood in your system due to the many side-effects, the scary thing is that it's not your choice whether you get it or not!!!

If you are involved in an accident and you need a blood transplant inmediately (even though, there is human blood available), and (specially if) you are unconcious, they will put this blood in your system whether you like it or not, because it's part of an experiment that Northfield Labs is testing on people!!! The only way for you not to be involved in this experiment would be if you are wearing a specific blue bracelet which you can only get at one of the hospitals that is participating, or to specifically e-mail northfield labs and ask for one!!! If you would like to find out more click on this links:

For the story:
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,62955,00.html
For info about the experiment:
http://www.irb.ucsd.edu/notices/polyheme
For questions & answers about it:
http://irb.ucsd.edu/notices/polyhem/FAQs.htm
How it began:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/polyheme

I saw the facts about the deaths on a show called 20/20 but I knew about this before. In that show they even showed the lawsuits from the families of the people who died.

I'm just trying to let people know that this kinds of experiments are going on and not many people know about it...

Answer 1

Thanks for freaking me out.

Answer 2

Haven't heard much about blood substitutes lately. I know that there was one being studied in various cities - so this must be the stuff. I don't know if the lack of information is because of how much time it takes to conduct the study or because of problems.
There is nothing quite like the real stuff. However, I suspect that some of the problems you list above are not real. Some people may have died after being given this because they were bleeding to death when it was being given. One of the problems with blood substitutes is that the substance is readily removed by the kidneys - so the worries about having this stuff remain in your system may not be that big a deal.

Answer 3

I would be interested in your source regarding the deaths. Polyheme is still in clinical trials and isn't being used on the general public. No deaths have been reported.

Although I do share your alarm; the use of Polyheme in life-threatening situations wouldn't require informed consent.