Normal Human Plasma
Dublin Core
Title
Normal Human Plasma
Subject
Blood plasma packets and equipment sets from World War II
Description
The colorful image shown here, of paper and cardboard packets, are packages containing dried human blood plasma donated by the American Red Cross for the war effort. These packets have a bottle of plasma in them, along with a bottle of distilled water and intravenous administration equipment for a blood plasma transfusion, such as an airway assembly and intravenous injection set.
These packages were the early kind used during the war, and were made to withstand all types of climates and temperatures. The other image, in black and white, shows some of the tools used to transfer blood plasma provided in the larger packages that became popular later on in the war. The small packages discussed before only provided 250 cc of plasma, and most soldiers, it turned out, needed more than this when getting a transfusion. Therefore, larger packages were created that provided 500 cc.
The genius of this dried plasma package was that it did not need refrigeration, unlike regular plasma used earlier on. Therefore, it could be transported to and used all over the world, by troops and medical personnel in multiple theaters of the war. While whole blood was preferable to plasma in controlling shock in patients, it was not always available in large amounts, and required more maintenance than dried plasma to store.
Most nurses and other medical personnel during the war would have encountered and likely used these blood plasma transfusion packages during the war on their patients. They also would have performed a lot of whole blood transfusions.
These packages were the early kind used during the war, and were made to withstand all types of climates and temperatures. The other image, in black and white, shows some of the tools used to transfer blood plasma provided in the larger packages that became popular later on in the war. The small packages discussed before only provided 250 cc of plasma, and most soldiers, it turned out, needed more than this when getting a transfusion. Therefore, larger packages were created that provided 500 cc.
The genius of this dried plasma package was that it did not need refrigeration, unlike regular plasma used earlier on. Therefore, it could be transported to and used all over the world, by troops and medical personnel in multiple theaters of the war. While whole blood was preferable to plasma in controlling shock in patients, it was not always available in large amounts, and required more maintenance than dried plasma to store.
Most nurses and other medical personnel during the war would have encountered and likely used these blood plasma transfusion packages during the war on their patients. They also would have performed a lot of whole blood transfusions.
Creator
Lederle Laboratories Inc. and Unknown
Source
World War 2 United States Medical Research Centre: "Class 9 Items: Drugs, Chemicals and Biological Stains Blood Plasma & Equipment:" https://www.med-dept.com/medical-kits-contents/class-9-items-drugs-chemicals-and-biological-stains-blood-plasma-equipment/
Publisher
World War 2 United States Medical Research Centre
Date
Accessed April 24, 2020
Format
Photograph of physical objects and digital image of black and white photographs of physical objects (jpg)
Language
English
Type
Physical Objects
Identifier
Blood Plasma Packets and Equipment from World War II
Coverage
Medicine in World War II, Plasma in World War II, US Military Medical History
Collection
Citation
Lederle Laboratories Inc. and Unknown , “Normal Human Plasma,” US Nurses in World War II, accessed April 29, 2024, https://usnursesww2.omeka.net/items/show/39.