A bottle containing a clot of fibrin around glass beads, after the defibrination of blood

Date:: 6 Sep 1941

Reference:: MED01/01/2047

Type:: Photograph (Print)

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Description

The original caption may contain language which is historic and which may no longer be considered appropriate. It has been retained in the record in the interest of historical accuracy.

The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “Production of defibrinated blood. Picture shows how the fibrin has clotted round the glass beads in the bottle after inversion for five minutes. This blood can be transfused at once without any filter since the clot is retained by the beads. Alternatively, as shown here, the fibrin clot may be removed soon after collection by inserting a mantle filter unit and running the defibrinated blood into another sterile bottle. This avoids the possibility of breaking up the clot by shaking, or by fibrinolysis.”

Fibrin clots formed around glass beads in bottles of blood, which could be removed from the whole blood and which resulted in defibrinated blood, which is non-coagulable. The transfusion of non-coagulable blood was “almost universally employed” in order to combat the rapid coagulation of blood upon its removal from a donor. An alternative method of producing non-coagulable blood was to add citrate, which acts as an anticoagulant. The location in which this photograph was taken is unknown. See also MED01/01/2041-2046 and MED01/01/2048-2050. High-resolution copies of this image are available for free for non-commercial use. Please Enquire to place an order.

Content

This is part of the Series: MED01/01 Series of prints; within the Collection: MED01 Topical Press Agency Medical Collection

Rights

Source: Historic England Archive

People & Organisations

Photographer: Topical Press Agency Limited

Photographer: Harrison, Norman Kingsley

Keywords

Laboratory, Science And Technology, Health And Welfare