The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-22
BLOOD PROFITEERS
BRAND NEW KIND
New York Nurses Refuse to
Pay Exorbitant Prices
for TRANSMISSION. T.

NEW YORK, Jan. 20. (By Interna-
tonal News Service.--New York, at
least so anyone who Is not a New
Yorker will proclaim, has become the
favorite habitat of the much talked Of
profiteer. There is one kind OF prof
iteer, however who tried his game here
and did not get away with 1t. A girl,
Miss Lillian Jedlicka, crushed this
latest and most strange attempt to
mulct the purses Of suffering humanity,
Blood profiteers are the latest here,
and no matter how many other profit
teers may thrive it is apparent that
this new variety will find It extremely
difficult TO accomplish their desires.
City hospitals in New York long have
depended upon professional blood don
ors to give up quantity Of red and
white corpuscles whenever blood trans
fusion llsI1 becomes an essential part OF sur;
gtcal operations, These blood donors"
long have been popularity regarded as
epitoniZing the spirit OF self sacrifice,
but 1t now appears that they have sue
cessfully commercialized their trade.
The scale" which surgeons, physi-
clans and hospital experts here have
been paying has been SIS per 500 cubic
centlmeters OF blood--an amount equal
to about a pint. In other words, the
medical men have been paying SIS for
about one third Of the blood Of an av-
erage adult.
Recently, however, the "blood donors"
became impressed with the conviction
that their services were worth more.
Most of them asked a $40 advance and
few refused to extend an arm for the
surgeons needle for less than $40. The
latest demand served upon the medical
men was for SIS for the first 800 cubic
centimeters. and $40 for each succeed
ing hundred.
At this juncture Miss Jedlicka came
into the picture. She is nurse ut
Flower hospital She determined to
thWart the "blood profiteers" and en-
listed in her support numerous other
nurses. all healthy and fit subjects to
give blood for the aid of ailing pa
TENTS.
Flower hospital has been for some
time struggling along In an effort to
care for the free patients in its wards.
1t had no money to give to blood prof.
teers, Rather than meet their eXtrava-
giant demands Miss Jedlicka announced
that she herself would supply the pint
TRANSMISSION. case.
Arrangements were hurriedly made,
and the girl student prepared to I'M
dergo the ordeal of TRANSMISSION. II
must be remembered, however, that the
modern operation for the donor" Is no
longer the messy and picturesque thing
that it once was. Giver and patient
are no longer connected by tube, with
the life fluid of one pumping into the
veins of the other. The giver's supply
is simply taken and then stored up for
use.
The operation was performed by DR..
Marion Bingham with one assistant to
administer a local anesthetic and to
stand ready with tank Of oxygen In
the event the patients heart showed
signs of weakness.
Miss Jedlicka, attired in long. white
operating robe with loose sleeves that
gave access to her arms, entered and
was laid on the operating table. DR..
Bingham prepared her needles, connect
ed with a container on a stand behind
her, and took her stand beside the
patient The assistant administered the
hypodermic, and after a moment TO
permit sufficient numbness, DR.. Btng-
ham plunged her needle into the girls
arm just above the elbow.
There was no sign Of pain on the
girls face as the needle entered the
vein. She was, however, the most in
terested person apparently-in de-
tached sort of way--in the room. she
watched every move and chatted with
the doctor and assistant during the
Is minutes which the operation re-
uuired. And all the time not drop
of blood was seen. SO far as any sign
of the grewsome In the affair, 1t might
have been an afternoon tea party.
At the conclusion of the operation
Miss Jedlicka climbed off the onerating
table, peeled off the robe, submitted
to having a small bandage applied to
her arm and hurried away to lee
ture. AS in all historic events the
details seemed matter of fact. But the
significance Of It! A new form Of prey.
ing upon the poor and defenselesss had
been defied, A new era Of freedom
and eConomy--Was begun,