The young man was deceived into becoming a "blood slave" in Cambodia! What are the harms of multiple large-dose blood draws to the body?

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Written by reporter Duan Dawei Edited by Liu Zhao

Interview experts

He Xuepeng (Chief Physician, Department of Hematology, Beijing Military Region General Hospital)

On February 17, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia issued a notice. The notice stated that on February 12, the Cambodian-Chinese First Hospital admitted a Chinese man named Li, who was coerced by a criminal gang to smuggle into Cambodia because he believed a false job advertisement on the Internet in the same city. He was then illegally detained by an online gambling and fraud gang in Chinatown, Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and had his blood drawn in large doses many times, and his life was in danger.

As soon as this news was released, it sparked heated discussions on the Internet. Life is precious and should be cherished the most. Blood runs through our bodies and is an indispensable and precious substance. What harm does multiple large-dose blood draws do to the body? Where does human blood come from? Why does blood donation not harm health?

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What harm does multiple large-dose blood draws do to the body?

▲Li was treated (Photo source: Xiaoxiang Morning News)

On February 11, 2022, Li Yaming (pseudonym) was taken out of the ambulance. It is understood that the man's blood type is Rh negative O type blood. People are familiar with the red blood cell ABO blood type system. Another one we are familiar with is the Rh blood type system, which is divided into Rh positive and Rh negative according to whether the red blood cells carry D antigen. When there is D antigen on a person's red blood cells, it is called Rh positive and represented by Rh (+); when the D antigen is lacking, it is Rh negative and represented by Rh (-). Rh negative blood type, which is what we commonly call panda blood. In addition, there are some rarer blood types, such as the P blood type system, the Bombay blood type system, etc. Because this blood source is scarce and the market price is high, he will have two bottles of blood drawn every one and a half months or so, each bottle is about 350 ml. He has been drawn seven times in more than half a year.

▲After Li was treated, his whole body was swollen (Photo source: Xiaoxiang Morning News)

When he was sent to the First Sino-Cambodian Hospital, he was paralyzed in a wheelchair due to severe ischemia and edema all over his body. His scrotum and penis were swollen into a big bag under his shorts - his penis was about ten times swollen than normal. He Xuepeng, chief physician of the Department of Hematology at the Beijing Military Region General Hospital, said, "Based on the man's condition, it may be iron deficiency anemia caused by regular blood loss and hypoalbuminemia caused by malnutrition, which shows edema all over the body." It is understood that iron deficiency anemia is a common type of anemia, which is caused by the body's lack of iron and reduced hemoglobin synthesis. Iron participates in the formation of hemoglobin, which is responsible for transporting oxygen. When the body lacks iron, hemoglobin cannot be synthesized normally, the red blood cells in the blood cannot carry oxygen normally, and the human body cannot get enough oxygen, which will cause fatigue, shortness of breath and other symptoms of anemia. Iron deficiency anemia can easily lead to dizziness, fatigue, pale complexion, affect work and study, and even endanger life.

Albumin is the main protein in human plasma, which maintains the body's nutrition and osmotic pressure. According to relevant information, hypoproteinemia can easily lead to severe edema in the human body. This is mainly because a large amount of protein is excreted, which reduces the protein in the body's blood, causing an imbalance in colloid osmotic pressure. If this continues for a long time, it will lead to severe edema in the human body. Severe hypoalbuminemia can cause pulmonary edema.

In addition, if patients have their blood drawn in non-formal medical institutions, they are likely to be infected by blood or medical equipment containing viruses or bacteria (such as AIDS, various viral hepatitis and other infectious viruses or bacteria), which can cause great harm to the body.

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Where does human blood come from?

From embryo to child, to adult, and finally to aging, a person's hematopoietic function undergoes earth-shaking changes throughout his life.

▲Chart of human blood composition (Source: Zhejiang Provincial Blood Center)

Blood is a red, opaque and viscous fluid composed of plasma (the liquid part of blood) and blood cells (erythrocytes, granulocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, platelets, etc.).

▲Human red bone marrow (People's Education Press High School Biology Compulsory Course 3)

In fact, human hematopoiesis begins in the fetal period: in the early embryonic period, the yolk sac in the embryo begins to produce blood; in the mature embryonic period, it is produced by the kidneys, spleen, liver and lymphatic tissue of the fetus. In adulthood, blood cells are mainly produced by the bone marrow.

▲Distribution map of red bone marrow in adults (Source: Illustration from "Incredible Blood")

Bone marrow is called the human body's hematopoietic "factory". It can produce an average of 1.5 billion blood cells (about 40 ml of blood volume of cells) every day. It is mainly found in the proximal ends of long bones such as the spine, ilium, ribs, sternum, femur, humerus, etc. The trabeculae in the bone marrow divide the bone marrow into many small honeycomb-like holes, which are the "home" of blood cells.

▲ Classification of human bone marrow (Photo source: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University)

There are two types of bone marrow in adults: red bone marrow and yellow bone marrow. There are many hematopoietic stem cells in the red bone marrow, which are the "seeds" for the formation of various blood cells. Stem cells can differentiate into primitive red blood cells, primitive granulocytes, primitive monocytes, primitive lymphocytes and primitive megakaryocytes, and then these primitive cells reproduce their respective offspring and develop into various blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, etc. Megakaryocytes in the bone marrow can also generate platelets.

Yellow bone marrow does not have the function of direct hematopoiesis. Around the age of 6, the red bone marrow in the marrow cavity of long bones gradually transforms into yellow bone marrow, which only exists in the marrow cavity of adult long bones. In the case of certain anemia, yellow bone marrow can be transformed back into red bone marrow with hematopoietic function.

▲The occurrence of blood cells (Photo source: Department of Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine)

Of course, the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow, like other organs in the body, gradually declines with age. Blood cells are like little lives, constantly undergoing metabolism, old cells die, and new cells mature. The life span of white blood cells is 5 to 7 days, platelets are about 2 weeks, and red blood cells are about 120 days on average, at which time these cells will naturally die. If unexpected situations such as bleeding and inflammation occur, mature blood cells may also be destroyed and lost. All of these reasons will cause a decrease in the number of blood cells in the peripheral blood circulation. Therefore, in order to maintain a balance in the number of mature cells in the peripheral blood circulation, the human body needs to "produce" blood cells continuously.

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Why doesn't donating blood harm your health?

(Photo source: Tuchong Creative)

The blood donation process in my country is very strict, and you can't just donate blood whenever you want. Before donating blood, the blood collection and supply agency will conduct a strict physical examination (health consultation, physical examination, blood test, etc.), and blood donors must meet the physical examination standards for free blood donation before they can participate in free blood donation.

(Image source: Jiangsu Education Edition Biology Grade 8 Volume 1)

Under normal circumstances, the total amount of blood in the human body remains basically unchanged. The total amount of blood in an average adult is about 7% to 8% of body weight, or 60 to 80 ml per kilogram of body weight. For example, a man weighing about 60 kilograms has a total blood volume of about 4,500 ml. Women have slightly less blood than men.

Since the total amount of blood in the body always remains relatively constant, even if you drink a lot of water sometimes, or don't drink water all day, the change in blood volume in the body is still very small. This is the result of the regulation of nerves and body fluids in the human body. Medical research has shown that if the amount of blood loss does not exceed 10% of the total blood volume, the human body can quickly restore the total amount of blood through the regulation of nerves and body fluids, and there will be no obvious cardiovascular dysfunction or other adverse consequences. Therefore, it is very safe for a healthy adult who meets the blood donation conditions to donate 200-400 ml of blood at a time, and it will not affect the health of the blood donor.

References:

"Etiology and diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia". Wang Wei and Wang Xiaoqin, Diagnostics Theory and Practice, 2021

https://office.iask.com/f/32SjrsLMNiR.html

http://www.a-hospital.com/w/%E9%AA%A8%E9%AB%93

https://wenku.baidu.com/view/eccd09c1ad45b307e87101f69e3143323868f5d7.html?fr=income3-wk_app_search_ctr-search

https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%B4%AB%E8%A1%80%E7%97%87/3642787?fr=aladdin

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