More impressive stuff from our favorite stuff, nitric oxide. Research shows that red blood cells lose a massive amount of nitric oxide in the the first 3 hours of being stored outside the body. By day 21 the blood is virtually empty of this vital substance. Experiments with dogs are showing that adding it back in greatly improves levels of S-nitrohemoglobin (which carries nitric oxide in blood) and dramatically increases blood flow in hypoxic (oxygen-starved) tissue. The hope is that treating banked blood with nitric oxide may greatly reduce the dangers of transfusion–reducing or eliminating occurrences of heart attack and even death. Read the whole thing Hematology/Oncology, Hematology from MedPage Today