Loose Rounds Episode 2 - Blood Transfusions

One of the many tragedies recorded by military history is the fact that soldiers used to be far more likely to die off the battlefield than on it, either due to illness, malnutrition, or poor treatment of their injuries. For instance, for every three soldiers killed in battle during the American Civil War, five more would die of disease, and many of those that died in battle only did so because of the limited medical help available at the time. 

Today, 150 years later, the situation is radically different. A modern soldier injured in combat has a good chance of reaching a surgical unit within 15 minutes of his or her injury, which is part of the reason why in some current conflicts, more than 90% of military personnel injured in combat survive. The same applies to deaths from disease, which are also largely a thing of the past.

In the second episode of the Nammo-sponsored podcast series "Loose Rounds," Adin Dobkin and Angry Staff Officer of "War Stories" introduce us to one of the advancements that have made this remarkable development possible - something that we today take almost for granted - blood transfusions. You can listen to the episode below, or search for "War Stories" wherever you get your podcasts (Click here to listen on iTunes/iPhone).