Three million for research project

Threatening postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the cause of almost a quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide. This does not only affect low-income countries, but is a phenomenon that is also increasing in industrialized countries. Postpartum hemorrhage usually occurs within 24 hours of giving birth and now affects around one in ten women giving birth. Postpartum hemorrhage can be life-threatening due to abnormal blood loss. A sustained research collaboration between the Center for Laboratory Medicine St.Gallen, the University Hospital (USZ) and the University of Zurich is now paying off.

Normally, the wound that occurs after the placenta is expelled closes quickly due to the contractions of the uterus. This requires a normal coagulation capacity of the blood. Based on earlier, fundamental research work on "coagulation factor 13" from the ZLM St.Gallen, Christian Haslinger, Clinic for Gerbil Assistance at the USZ, Wolfang Korte, Center for Laboratory Medicine (ZLM) and Torsten Hothorn, Institute for Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention at the University of Zurich, have now described in a research collaboration that this factor is of enormous importance for blood coagulation even after birth. The measurements planned and carried out at the ZLM have provided new insights into possible new treatment approaches, as Wolfgang Korte recently reported at the congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, ISTH, in Montreal, Canada.

The idea based on the research results as to whether bleeding can be stopped more quickly with early administration of factor 13 has also convinced the committees of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The SNSF is funding the resulting treatment study on this question with over 3 million Swiss francs. The ZLM is playing a key role in (further) clinical and laboratory research into the pathophysiology of PPH. If this approach can be confirmed, it will be a milestone in the treatment of these dangerous bleedings.

ZLM St.Gallen in collaboration with the University of Zurich

The Center for Laboratory Medicine (ZLM) is a modern, high-performance laboratory accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 (Head Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Korte) and is one of the leading medical diagnostic laboratories in Switzerland. It provides basic laboratory medical care and special analysis in the Canton of St.Gallen and fulfills a research and training mission; it participates in the training of specialists and medical students as part of the Joint Medical Master (JMM) of the School of Medicine of the University of St.Gallen (Head Prof. Alexander Geissler) with the University of Zurich. The ZLM runs the only hemophilia and hemostasis center in Eastern Switzerland, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of blood clotting disorders.

Media release Center for Laboratory Medicine, August 11, 2023