Current status of erythrocyte substitutes.

During the last two decades the search for alternatives to whole blood transfusions has led to promising developments in the field of erythrocyte substitutes. Hemoglobin solutions free of fragments of erythrocyte stroma and fluorocarbon emulsions are not blood-type-specific and appear likely to satisfy some proportion of our blood requirements. Both must be modified before becoming clinically useful. The oxygen affinity of the hemoglobin solution must be reduced and its intravascular persistence improved. Fluorocarbons cannot yet contribute significantly to the oxygen supply unless the patient breathes hyperbaric oxygen. Recent advances are leading to solutions for these problems.