Artificial Blood

By kilamxx

The Mufti of Perlis, Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainul Abidin has said that the use of artificial blood is not against the teachings of Islam and in fact, it is encouraged if it is for the good of mankind (Utusan Malaysia Online 10 May 2007). He was commenting on the possibility that Malaysia might become the largest producer of artificial blood if negotiations go through.

Dr. Asri said this is because there is no verse in the Quran or Hadiths which forbids its use. Anything which is for the good of mankind is allowed as long as it is according to Islamic guidelines and Shariah law. Just as in the use of artificial limbs, there are no grounds that can be found in the Quran and Hadiths which forbid its use.

According to Dr. Asri, in the field of medicine or economy, if something is guaranteed to be beneficial to human livelihood and is not against syarak (divine law), then it is definitely allowed as in the case of artificial blood. The field of medicine is always expanding and the Muslim ummah must keep up with the advances in world technology including medical technology as in the case of artificial blood for the sake of economic development.

The Mufti of Terengganu, Datuk Ismail Yahya, has regarded the effort of the Government to produce artificial blood as something that is encouraged by Islam as it is for the good of mankind. However he said the government must ensure that the methods and resources used to produced artificial blood do not contain haram elements in order to safeguard its purity. He regarded the effort to produce artificial blood as similar to the act of donating blood to save human lives.

What Is Artificial Blood?

Artificial blood, which is also known as substitute blood, is a product made to act as a substitute for red blood cells. While true blood serves many different functions, artificial blood is designed for the sole purpose of transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body.

Why Is There A Need for Substitute Blood?

Public concern over the safety of transfusion and the impact of reduced blood donations is leading to annual shortages in blood. Shortages are an increasing problem and have worsened over recent years as a result of many factors, such as:

• An ageing population
• Advancement in surgical procedures
• Public opinion on virus transmission (e.g. HIV)

It has now been realised that there is a strong case for the development of 'blood substitutes' since an effective substitute could, in principle, solve problems associated with using donated blood for transfusion.

What Are The Advantages Of Artificial Blood

1. Unlike red blood cells, a blood substitute could be sterilised, this would mean the problems of disease spreading would be removed from transfusions.
2. Problems of human error, (mismatching of blood types) with donated blood would be removed since a substitute would not contain the properties of blood that cause this.
3. A blood substitute could be stored stably for a long time, which would allow for transport to third world countries or to a battlefield, or site of natural disaster without the need for refrigerators. Effectively there would be trouble free availability of blood.

What Is Artificial Blood Made From

Currently there are two main types of blood substitutes being developed with each being made from different base material:-

1. Haemoglobin-based substitutes

2. Perfuorocarbon-based substitutes.

1. Haemoglobin-based substitutes

These are usually made from haemoblobin extracted from outdated waste donor blood or from cow blood haemoglobin which has been modified.

Haemoglobin can also be manufactured synthetically from amino acids which are chemicals that plants and animals use to create the proteins that are essential for life. Hemoglobin synthesis requires a specific type of bacteria and all of the materials needed to incubate it. This includes warm water, molasses, glucose, acetic acid, alcohols, urea, and liquid ammonia.

2. Perfuorocarbon-based substitutes

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are synthetic liquids that dissolve large volumes of oxygen, and also have the capacity to transport carbon dioxide. They are biologically inert materials that can dissolve about 50 times more oxygen than blood plasma. They are relatively inexpensive to produce and can be made devoid of any biological materials. This eliminates the real possibility of spreading an infectious disease via a blood transfusion.

From a technological standpoint, they have two significant hurdles to overcome before they can be commercially utilized as artificial blood. First, they are not soluble in water, which means to get them to work they must be combined with emulsifiers—fatty compounds called lipids that are able to suspend tiny particles of perfluorochemicals in the blood. Secondly, they have the ability to carry much less oxygen than hemoglobin-based products. This means that significantly more PFC must be used.

References:-


1 How Artificial Blood Is Made
2 Euro Blood Substitutes