If it is not an absolute emergency, blood will be typed and cross matched prior to a transfusion so as to prevent a rejection of the donated blood, the equivalent a host versus graft reaction in organ transplantation. Graft versus host reactions can also occur.
The study of immunology is quite fascinating and probably still in its infancy.
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
<from the newspaper article: “Thomas donated a kidney Thursday to Love at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. Both were expected to be discharged Saturday.”
That’s amazing! You get/give a kidney on Thursday and are out of the hospital on Saturday! Even if the reporter wasn’t clear and they are out of the hospital a week later, it’s still amazing!
I’m black and had always heard of sickle cell (and had myself tested), but never knew anyone with it until I worked at the front desk of the experimental unit of UMichigan’s hospital as an undergrad in the ‘70’s. You could hear the sickle cell patients just screaming in pain. I’d never heard anything like it. And what was worse, the nurses would hear that screaming and say they couldn’t give pain meds, the patients ‘had enough.’ Whoa. That was my first experience with that kind of thing and it has stayed with me.
We also had a kidney transplant between twins when I was there. In about a day or so, the sick twin looked as good as her healthy twin. It was amazing. The surgery was new at the time and I don’t recall how long the twins had to stay in the hospital. They kept them in isolation rooms. Now, from the picture that goes with the story, it looks like both patients are in a regular hospital room and not in a sterile environment.