The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-05-20
O TRANSMISSION.
remarkable Case OF Gen. Blair.

InE NtbfN' w.
The TRANSMISSION of healthy blood into
tbe veins Of Gen Frank p. Blair-long
lying in a critical condition, and finding
no relief from other treatment--has
undoubtedly been followed by great,
even If temporary, relief. AT the first
operation an ounce md n hall was
transferred, aud at the second a little
less than four ounces, the patient re-
mining almost inBenaiblc, and APP
pareutly unconscious. At the third,
and 30 far, the last attempt, five ounces
of fresh blood were successfully trans
farred, and the patient was 40 lar recoy'
cred as TO watch the operation with
great interest, TO orticuIate a few words
for the first time IN many days, ana 10
move Il paralytic arm that had been
helpless for weeks. Shortly after, he
fell into a refreshing slumbcr, since
which no account Of his condition mas
been received.
Encouraging u these symptoms seem,
too much must not be hoped from them,
II unfortunately the record Of the earlier
experiments Of this class that tho ilr3t
naltering improvement in the patients
hcpltb was too often followed by Il
speedy and fatuI relapse. Few novelties
in therapeutics have created so mnch
excitement in their day az tins very one,
and vet it is 20 ancient that it's origin
can not be determined, 1t is commonly
supposed that Il passage III Oy!d releiS
| to the operation, aud certainly 1t was
described in full by Iibaylas as early
AZ 1913. At one time excitement tnlrly
ran riot over it, and the boliei was
common among the profession that
gome changes in the modu8 oPeranh
would result in making it the fountain
Of perpetual life.
But the fever passed away from the
fact that those operated upon would III,
CONSIDERABLY insist upon dying instead
of getting well, and, finally, public
opinion passed iron one eXtremc to the
other. Upon the death Of Baron BOND,
Of Sweden, under the operation, the
French Parliament came down upon the
practice with a prohibition under heavy
pepaltieg; and a few years later, the
popc, rarely bching hand with prohibi-
tions where science is concerned, iulml-
mated an edict prescribing any attempts
of The kind.
Thus presented, of course the practice
lived, and lived to become something
reliable, and very useful in it's limited
way. Along in the early part OF this
century DR.. Blundell discovered to what
uses the operation could advantageously
be put, what were prerequisite to lts
success, and what Incidents were dan
perous. One Of his most important
discoveries was that the TRANSMISSION was
most likely to be successful where thc
~corpuscJes of the two bioods mingled
were of equal or nearly equal SIZE ana
that it. was certain to be fatal II they
were of different kinds, as, for instance,
between birds and quadrupcds. He
| limited its main uses, alao, to such cases
a. where death was Threatened through
excessive loss of blood from any cause,
surgical or otherwise, finding that the
vitality was much less tried by the trans
fusion than by the task of making new
blood for itself.
Since these experiments OF DIR. Blum,
deli there have been no material ad-
vances in the art except the improve
mcut of Instruments with n view to the
exclusion Of air aud the maintenance Of
an equitable temperature, OF late,
however, There seem to have been II
revival in the hospitals OF the belief
that a larger domain rightly belonged
to the practice if truly pursued and OF
this later awakening the Blair case IL
one Of the first Importance. The re.
suits will bo awaited with great inter
est, not only by the friends of the pa
ticnt, but by those concerned III the
bcaiiug Of the case upon the world at
large GacimaW Times.