Nurse holding equipment needed for a blood transfusion, Army Blood Supply Depot, Southmead Hospital, Southmead Road, Bristol
A nurse holding equipment for the transfusion of serum, and a dried plasma set consisting of dried plasma, equipment for transfusion, and sterile water, both used for giving blood transfusions. The mixing of the sterile water and the dried plasma gives 200 c.c. of plasma ready for use in a blood transfusion. The Army Blood Supply Depot, based at Southmead Hospital, was established in 1938 and began collecting blood from local donors in summer 1939. During the campaign in France in 1940, the Army Blood Supply Depot provided nearly all the blood and plasma required. Donated blood could be exchanged between the civilian and military blood depots, but the two services drew blood from separate pools of donors. Britain’s blood depot, established during WWI, and its fully functioning transfusion service pre-war meant that the transfusion service of the British army was well-organised compared to other armed forces.
Location
Bristol BristolPeriod
World War Two (1939 - 1945)Themes
