During the past two years the citrate method of giving blood transfusions has been coming more and more into general use. Many surgeons who formerly employed the paraffin-coated tubes for transfusion have given up this method for the citrated blood.
The principal objection to the use of the paraffin-coated tube is the difficulty of obtaining a thin, even coating of paraffin. Coating tubes with melted paraffin is a long, tedious process, and good results are obtained only in the hands of those who are experienced in the method.
The advantages of the method I am about to describe are simplicity, rapidity, and the assurance of always obtaining a thin even coating of paraffin.
METHOD
The sterilized tubes are rinsed with a small amount of alcohol followed by a small amount of ether. About 1 ounce of a paraffin-ether solution (paraffin, 1 part, 53 C. melting point, and 80 parts of