Freeze-Dry Blood

I am behind on absolutely everything. This is from the November/December issue of Foreign Policy.

Blood for Battle
By Yaakov Katz
A small Israeli biotechnology company could help dramatically reduce battlefield casualties in war with a technology it is pioneering to freeze-dry blood. The technology, which is being developed by the Israel-based company Core Dynamics, would allow soldiers to carry a unit of their own dried blood as part of their personal equipment. In case of injuries, the freeze-dried blood crystals could be mixed with purified water and transfused into soldiers by medics in the field. Such transfusions could help save lives since militaries rarely send medics into the field with blood, for fear of its spoiling. “Blood can only be kept for a month and in fridges,” says a Core Dynamics spokeswoman. “Our blood, if freeze-dried, can … basically be kept forever.” The Israel Defense Forces funded the initial research, and the company is now trying to interest the U.S. Army. It’s one revolution in military affairs most soldiers would welcome.
Mr. Katz writes for the Jerusalem Post