Sunday, April 27, 2008

Menstrual blood is the new black

Daaaaamn, I knew my menstrual blood was magical, but I didn't realize just how much:

Scientists say menstrual blood can repair hearts

Scientists obtained menstrual blood from nine women and cultivated it for about a month, focusing on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells.

Some 20 percent of the cells began beating spontaneously about three days after being put together in vitro with cells from the hearts of rats. The cells from menstrual blood eventually formed sheet-like heart-muscle tissue.


Take that, period-haters. I can repair a human heart with my blood. What can you do?

HT: Feministing

39 comments:

Kate said...

Haha. Great post, Lindsay!
And take that "Superbad."

Amelia said...

I second that.

Goose said...

woooo freakin ho

I still don't want to hear about YOUR period.

Anonymous said...

proper women must not speak of such things. your mothers should all be ashamed of the way they raised you.

Amelia said...

Fine Tyler, I mean "Goose," don't listen to us talk about our periods! No one made you view this blog. And I just hope your heart is healthy. Because I won't give you any of my menstrual blood to save it...since that's icky and all.

Rachel said...

I also think this entire thing is a little disgusting as well...

lindsay said...

It's kinda sad you have such a dismal opinion of a natural, life-giving substance.

Jenn said...

Glad there could be some use for it other than a week of agony and back pains.

Goose said...

It's kinda sad you have such a dismal opinion of a natural, life-giving substance.

You know what else is natural and life-giving (if not actually life) is a fetus. You obviously have absolutely zero regard for that fetus. As long as women get to choose to do whatever they want without consequence to themselves, you don't care.

Rachel said...

I think Jen put into words what I meant better than I did...

lindsay said...

I think Jen put into words what I meant better than I did...
Good call. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

JPR said...

Interesting.... uh. I guess my only question is how the heck they came up with the idea that it could work.

Anonymous said...

I agree with jpr - what made them think of that as an option?

Anonymous said...

Give me a break "suzie"...ashamed of the way I raised my child? I raised an incredible young woman, encouraging her to take time to discover who she is, and not who I thought she should be. She is her own person, passionate and dedicated to what she believes in and a dedicated life is a life worth living. Keep up the good work impersonators!!!!

lindsay said...

Interesting.... uh. I guess my only question is how the heck they came up with the idea that it could work.

Well, it's a Japanese lab and they don't have as much of a stigma around menstruation, so they probably weren't grossed out by the idea in the first place.

OutcrazyOphelia said...

"Well, it's a Japanese lab and they don't have as much of a stigma around menstruation, so they probably weren't grossed out by the idea in the first place."

It's funny that you mention that, a friend of mine just reminded me of the process of buying pads in Japan when we were studying abroad--when you buy them they wrap them in a brown paper bag so no one can tell that you have them. I completely forgot about it because it was so awkward.

Anonymous said...

well "deb" maybe you raise your child to speak her mind, which is all fine and good, but at the same time you have to realize that in society, no one wants to hear about your cycles! accept it, move on!

Amelia said...

Suzie, please remove yourself from this blog if discussing natural occurrences that can potentially have life-saving consequences bothers you so much.

No one is forcing you to read this, so feel free to move on if our discussions are distasteful to you.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm just saying that decent, respectable young women of society do not discuss such things. Where I come from this is exeptionally distasteful. And I will read what I wish and say what I wish.

Amelia said...

I will, and all the talented young women who contribute to this blog will, continue to write what we want.

That is just the way it will be. Where I come from, it would be inexcusable for a woman to be silenced from having positive discourse.

If you could contribute positively, I would be glad to have you.

Amelia said...

And I think that all the Impersonators are highly decent and very respectable because we are promoting discussion on issues of importance.

Medical discoveries? Important and awesome.

Excellent post, Lindsay!

Anonymous said...

Suzie you should take Amelia's advice.....if discussing these things makes you that uncomfortable I would also suggest not watching T.V., listening to the radio or reading a magazine because society is talking....and it is wonderful!!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm not saying society shouldn't talk. I'm saying that there are certain things that should not be discussed.

Amelia said...

What you are saying, Suzie, is that society should not talk about certain things. And I believe that that is wrong, especially when talking about this particular subject that you find so appalling could help save lives.

Why should we be silent about that?

OutcrazyOphelia said...

Honestly I don't recall anyone getting into details about their flow, only their unwillingness to pretend it doesn't exist, especially in the light of this new discovery.

A feminist blog discussing menstruation? Scandalous! You've got the most interesting trolls around here Amelia.

lindsay said...

I mean, if you want details, I can give details. My switch from tampons/pads to my Keeper can be quite entertaining, so I'm sure there's plenty of material to work with.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it interesting that no one ever says it's disgusting to talk about how semen whitens teeth?

Anonymous said...

I have no idea... but seriously, we were just talking about that in my dorm room.

question we came up with: how many calories does semen have??

Anonymous said...

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with talking about our period. all of you who think its disgusting need to get with the beauty of life. my partner loves it when I go down on her during that time of the moneh

Jenn said...

Hey Suzie. You don't have to read this. You choose to read a feminist blog. Then you choose to tell us that our no-no parts and what they do habitually are gross. This is our forum, go get your own.

(The Korean) Andrew said...

1. Goose, I think that it is fair that if you don't want to hear about anyone's period, that is your right. No one said anything personally about their period, drop it.

2. Suzie homemaker; these young women choose to be vocal, intelligent, informed, and active instead of "decent" or "proper". If that means you cannot respect them, then why should anyone respect you?
And how dare you call into question their upbringing, and dismiss people who were not even here to defend themselves (initially).

3. jpr and all american girl:
Based on my tenuous grasp of biology and human anatomy, I would hypothesize that researchers assumed that menstruation, being composed of cells associated with fetal development, may contain cells that would behave in a manner similar to stem cells. It would appear they were correct.

4. Goose, (again) women aren't the only ones who use the convenience of abortion to escape consequences, and the abuse of that procedure for those ends is not to be condoned, nor do I believe any of the impostors here do.

Furthermore I would like to state, for the record. Goose, Jezabel, or any other right leaning persons, I am strongly anti-abortion.

I am very much pro-contraception, pro-family-planning, pro-adoption, and pro-sex-education, but not pro-abortion.

What I am is pro-choice. If someone else chooses abortion, that is their right; not mine.

lindsay said...

Bravo - well put.

Anonymous said...

I agree, well said Andrew.

Goose said...

Andrew, how can you say women are not the only ones who use abortion to escape responsibility. The man has no say in the decision, therefore no culpability either. If the father needed to give permission, then I would give him equal blame. until then, It is all the mother's choice.

Anonymous said...

so a father is incapable of accepting blame for assisting in the creation of the "issue" to begin with? Id say that since the man has the ultimate decision on yes or no, he had a rather large part in the decision. Im not saying that the opinions of the couple can differ; but, the man already played a large role in the decision.

Goose said...

i was saying that the woman is the only person who can get an abortion, so she is the only one who is directly to blame for the abortion occurring. If somebody else (child's father) had to sign off, they would then share the responsibility.

Although he had a 50% stake in making the child, he did not have a 50% stake in destroying it. that was the person who agreed to the abortion, the mother.

lindsay said...

Hey - this is a post about menstruation. Get back on topic, or post your anti-choice rhetoric somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

the man helped create the problem, and lindsay is right. about the real topic at hand, i say we go for it. good can come from the mot obscure of places (not to say that a womans vagina is obscure) and from sources that were not used before; hence the whole basis of science.

(The Korean) Andrew said...

Goose, I was implying the sad disgusting fact that men who are not ready to assume the responsibility of fatherhood often pressure the women they impregnate to terminate the abortion.