From the moment of trauma, whether for wounded soldiers, victims of motor vehicle accidents, or children hit by bullets, the best solution to blood loss is, obviously, blood. But many ambulances don't carry blood because it is extremely volatile. Paramedics can offer saline solution, sometimes even laced with nonblood "expanders," but saline can't ferry oxygen around the bloodstream to keep cells alive.
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A Bloody Mess
Emergency research raises the question: Can trials without consent work?
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