Blood Works: An Owner's Guide

Book excerpt: Much has been published on heart health, kidney health, and gut health. But how many of us are aware of our blood health? Is your blood as healthy as it should be? How would you even know? Blood Works is a fascinating new blood owners’ guide to help you care for the health of your most precious fluid—your blood. About 2 billion people globally are anemic, and almost as many suffer from iron deficiency without anemia. Many don’t even know they have it, just feeling tired, lethargic, and “foggy-headed.” Sound familiar? Over 600 million more suffer from acute or sometimes unrecognized chronic blood loss from causes such as heavy menstrual bleeding, obstetric hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding, surgery, and trauma. Anemia, iron deficiency, and bleeding are signs of “blood failure” and have major negative health effects. Blood Works, with contributions from 48 leading international medical experts, is a must have book for all who want to look after their blood health. Your blood is the essential fluid that keeps you alive. Yet, while many of us know our cholesterol level and blood pressure, few of us are aware of our blood count. What we don’t know can affect our everyday quality of life and put us at risk if we have bleeding, an injury, or require hospitalization. Blood, and the vessels that contain it, make up the largest organ system in the body. Its balance and health must be maintained. For many decades, the treatment of first resort for anemia and blood loss has been blood transfusion, which is essentially a “liquid organ” transplant from another person. In heart failure or kidney failure, organ transplantation is not first-line treatment. In blood failure, blood “transplantation” should not be the first thing we reach for. Since the 1990s, scientific research has shown that the common use of blood transfusion is not the most effective treatment in many medical situations. It has been identified as one of the most overused treatments in modern medicine, costing billions of dollars, while causing changes in the recipient’s immune system that may increase the risk of complications and death. In October 2021, the World Health Organization called for the urgent global implementation of Patient Blood Management (PBM), stating “our own blood is still the best thing to have in our veins.” Blood Works is one of the most exciting books on blood health you will read. The book zooms in on why medical experts from around the world now recognize the need for fundamental change in the way a patient’s blood is managed. Known as PBM, Patient Blood Management places the person receiving treatment at the center of decisions involving their lifeblood. Its aim is to improve general health and treatment outcomes by managing and preserving a patient’s own blood while empowering them to share in making decisions. Meticulously researched and referenced, masterfully illustrated, and featuring personal stories from patients and their families, Blood Works is a compelling read. It will have a profound impact on your health and the health of your loved ones and is an invaluable resource for health care professionals.