Show save woman from death by use of her own blood london transfusion of three p pints ints of her own blood helped save the life of the wife of a government employee after she apparently had died on the operating table at croydon general hospital the woman whose name has h as been kept secret suffered an internal hemorrhage after the abnormal birth of a child an operation was necessary immediately after the administration of an anesthetic she collapsed and her heart ceased to beat apparently she was dead the resident surgical officer at the hospital thirty year old dr C J C and his assistant dr E P C ashman immediately administered the drug ephedrine while an incision was made just below the ribs dr began massaging the heart through the diaphragm the heart began beating again the doctors found that about three pints of the womans comans blood the body holds only about five pints had drained into the abdomen necessitating an immediate blood transfusion As there was no time to summon a blood donor the doctors took one pint of the wom ans own blood through an incision passed it through sterilized gauze and restored it to the patient by the orthodox introduction into a vein in the arm after a 2 second incision two more pints were removed from the abdomen and transferred to the arm then the doctors were able to carry out the original operation the operation occurred about ten days ago and the woman will be able to return home soon |