Other new lifesaving tools are the chitosan and fibrin bandages. Chitosan is a biodegradable carbohydrate found in the shells of shrimp, lobsters and other invertebrates. It bonds with blood cells to form a clot, stopping or reducing bleeding in over 90 percent of combat cases, without known complications, and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The fibrin bandage contains fibrinogen and thrombin, clotting proteins found in blood. It was FDA-approved for investigational use by special operations soldiers, but has subsequently been replaced by the chitosan dressing as the standard bandage carried by the soldiers on the battlefield.
This fibrin bandage has most probably been replaced, because it is extremely expensive. Fortunately, Pharming has a recombinant (transgenic) version of human fibrinogen in clinical development (in cooperation with the US Army), while Zymogenetics has a recombinant version of human Thrombin in late stage development. So cheaper recombinant fibrin bandages may in the future also be life savers in case of excessive bleeding.
