June 27, 2023: Last heparin flush

Wednesday, June 28, 2023 · by kathy howe
Just gave Sam’s Hickman Central Line its last daily flush of heparin.  Tomorrow the line will be removed.

a bit about Heparin: it acts as an anticoagulant in this case but that’s not always the case. Pharmaceutical grade heparin is extracted from pigs and cows but it has also been extracted from:
turkeys, whales, dromedary camels, mice, lobsters, fresh water mussels, clams, shrimp, mangrove crabs and sand dollars — a very diverse set of animals. 

“The biological activity of heparin within lobsters, fresh water mussels, clams, shrimp, mangrove crabs and sand dollars is unclear and further supports the idea that the main physiological role of heparin is not anticoagulation. These species do not possess any blood coagulation system similar to that present inturkeys, humans, whales, dromedaries, and mice.  The above list also demonstrates how heparin has been highly evolutionarily conserved, with molecules of a similar structure being produced by a broad range of organisms belonging to many different phyla.“ (Wikipedia)

cool!

Thank you for your service Hickman Central Line.  Glad to not need you anymore.

#FULeukemia

#LFGStemCells

#TeamSamStrong




♥ 32 hearts

12 comments

Erin Lavik · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Can you tell my grant reviewers this? They get very upset that we use heparin to manage inflammation even though we have lots of data showing that in the particles, it does not impact coagulation. But they fixate on it. :) You all are amazing.
kathy howe · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
That’s really interesting — thanks for sharing that Erin. I love learning about all these things along the way. There are so many ways that other species can help us — we just need to be better caretakers of the Earth and all of its inhabitants along the way.
Bryan Rollins · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Gotta get me some of that turkey Heparin
David Hornik · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Amazing. Good bye Hickman. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Emily Mencken · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Fantastic! What an awesome milestone!!
Gowri G · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Yessss. Onward!
Grandma Howe · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Kathy, you all are amazing!!❤️
Joe Shortt · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
What a scientific journey and our connection to the creatures around us , indeed cool
kathy howe · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
I thought so too! We have so much to learn about biology and micro biomes and how we can better take care of the Earth so we can also learn more about how plant and animal species can help us with cancer and other diseases.
Dana Lilly · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Goodbye Hickman!!!
Jessi Hempel · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Seeya Hickman!
Cynthia Harris Perazzo · Wednesday, June 28, 2023
#TMYK