The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-11-30
TRANSMISSION Of Blood.


by one of its eminent votaries, "its ro-
mantle side" It's history presents not
few deeds of heroism and self-sacri6ce;
its results have not seldom been attained
by suffering voluntarily inflicted, and
have now and then cost the lives of will
ing victims. The young Berlin doctor
who, when deadly contagious distemper
was ravaging the poorer households of
that city, thought he had discovered a
method for its cure, and, knowing that
its test might be fatal, nevertheless boldly
tried it upon himself, and who, as he lay
dying from its effects, jotted down his OBJ
servations of its action on his system
until within nine minutes of his depart
ure from earth, was hero to whom Sir
Philip Sidney would have do6ed his hat.
A deed scarcely less noble, as it involved
serious self-sacrifce, has just been done
at Manchester by young English medi-
cal student. 1t appears that a weakly
young man had leg amputated at the
hospital, which made him so feeble that
he was lot likely to recover. He was
fast sinking when the hospital doctor de-
clared that there was but one possible
way of saving him. Into the patients
languid veins must be transfused guam
tity of warm blood from vigorous, liv.
ing man. A young student, who heard
this, at once stepped forward and offered
his own blood for the purpose. A pint
of the vital fluid was thereupon taken
from him, and sent circulating through
the arm and body of the moribund youth.
Within two hours he revived, recognized
people, and was pronounced on the way
to recovery.
The young medical student to whose
unselish heroism this good result was
due may possibly have worked even bet
ter than he knew. 1t was long a matter
of discussion and doubt whether this
operation of TRANSMISSION could really be
performed so as to transfer the vital vigor
of one person to another. 1t is not at all
a new idea, indeed, for we read of its
having been tried on d certain pope four
centuries ago, three young men being
compelled to sacrifice their lives in order
that the decrepit pontiff might thus re-
new his youth; but the experiment failed.
The experiment has been tried many
times, and in different countries; and tor
the past half-century the practicability
of TRANSMISSION has been generally admit
ted by the profession. The difficulty IS;
to successfully effect it; but it is well
known that the blood of animals has been
again and again transfused TO the veins
Of human beings with the best physical
results.
Of course the idea of TRANSMISSION gives
rise to many amusing fancies. Can you
make an old man young, cross man
amiable, a coward brave, nervous man
phlegmatic, by exchanging the vital fluid
in the veins? Is there modicum of
sober truth in Edmond About's funny
conceit about the "nose of notaryw
The blood of lambs is sometimes used IN
the operation of TRANSMISSION: do the doc
tors find the patients thereafter more
lamb-like? How gratifying it would be
if, by merely vivisecting the gentle den
izen of the pasture, and transferring Its
blood to mortal veins, we could transform
the uncomfortable tempers around us
into perennial docility! We fear, how
ever, that psychological results are not to
be attained by this very material process.
Very much will be gained, however, if
we can restore ruddiness to pallid cheeks,
and strength to tottering body; If we
can see the consumptive revive under
the circulation of healthy blood yielded
to him by the self-sacrifice of another, as
the fainting vampire revived under the
moons rays; and if the effects of those
horrible sudden hamorrhages which end
in abrupt death from mere loss of blood
can be obviated by prompt TRANSMISSION.
It may not be that the fountain of per-
petual youth is to be found yelling up
from the heart of ones neighbor; but the
Gift of health from one mortal body to
another has certain poetry about 1t
scarcely less pleasing to the fancy than
the ancient fable, being significant of
human self-sacrifce, noble emotion in
which the ancient fable was wanting
From Appleton's Journal for December.