The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced a new, federally-funded study on the blood disorder Polycythemia vera, or PV, in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Somerset counties. Residents of these counties who were diagnosed with PV between 2001 and 2008 are eligible to participate in the study and will be compensated. PV is a blood disorder that causes bone marrow to produce too many red blood cells, resulting in what is commonly referred to as “thick blood.” People with PV can sometimes be at increased risk for blood clots, heart attack or stroke…

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, announced June 21 that it will fund nine research grants to improve the safety of red blood cell transfusions. Wake Forest University Professor of Physics Daniel Kim-Shapiro and a collaborator at the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded a $2.8 million, four-year grant to study why the quality of stored blood degrades over time and to investigate ways to make transfusions using older blood safer. Eight of the grants, including Kim-Shapiro’s will provide a total of $3…

In research led by a Saint Louis University investigator, molecular biologists have discovered a way to harness the enzyme thrombin’s anti-blood clotting properties. The finding opens the door to new medications that will treat diseases related to thrombosis, the presence of blood clots in blood vessels, which is responsible for nearly a third of all deaths in the U.S. “Thrombosis is one of the most prevalent causes of fatal disease,” said lead researcher Enrico Di Cera, M.D., chair of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine…

Ipsen (Euronext : FR0010259150; IPN) and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Inspiration) announced that the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion on the granting of orphan drug status for OBI-1 for the treatment of hemophilia. Final adoption of the opinion is expected from the European Commission later this year and subject to it being finally granted, the orphan drug status would trigger a 10-year market exclusivity to OBI-1 in the European Union after its marketing approval…

People under the age of 25 contribute an estimated 38% of reported voluntary blood donations, according to new global data from the WHO, released on World Blood Donor Day, 14 June. World Blood Donor Day is celebrated each year to highlight the contribution voluntary unpaid blood donors make to public health. This year’s slogan, “New blood for the world,” aims to raise awareness of the role young people play in maintaining supplies of safe blood…

Results from an international trial involving over 20,000 participants in 40 countries suggest that if recently injured patients with serious bleeding were to be given an injection of a cheap, widely available drug, it could save the lives of tens of thousands of people every year worldwide, including victims of traffic accidents, shootings, stabbings and land mine injuries…

Seventy-seven countries do not have a blood donation rate high enough to meet “the basic needs for blood transfusions,” the Associated Press reports. The WHO released new global data on blood donation for World Blood Donor Day on June 14. “[H]alf of the global blood donations are collected in developed nations, home to only 16 percent of the world’s population,” according to the AP (6/11). CBC News reports that “one percent of a country’s population needs to give blood to meet basic transfusion needs” (6/11)…

In recognition of World Blood Donor Day, please join me today in “Celebrating the Gift of Blood.” World Blood Donor Day allows us to recognize the vital importance of blood donation and celebrates those who give blood across the globe. I want to thank all of you who donate blood regularly and encourage everyone to help save lives by giving blood. Regular blood donations are more critical than ever to meet our nation’s demand. Every two seconds, someone in the United States is in need of blood…

PolyMedix, Inc. (OTC BB: PYMX), an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, has successfully completed a second Phase 1B clinical safety and pilot efficacy study with PMX-60056, a small synthetic molecule designed to reverse heparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) anticoagulants. The data from this study show that PMX-60056 met the study safety and efficacy endpoints regarding the reversal of the anticoagulant activity of the LMWH tinzaparin…

Scientists are reporting development of the first “dipstick” test for instantly determining a person’s blood type at a cost of just a few pennies. Their study on the test, which involves placing a drop of blood on a specially treated paper strip, appears in ACS’ semi-monthly journal Analytical Chemistry, where the authors say it could be a boon to health care in developing countries. The test also could be useful in veterinary medicine, for typing animals’ blood in the field, they note…