BLOOD CLOTTING
(Friday Church News Notes, July 6, 2018, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
The following is excerpted from Seeing the Non-existent: Evolution’s Myths and Hoaxes, David Cloud, copyright 2011: “Blood clotting is an example of a wonderful biological system that could not have evolved in stages. The clotting mechanism is necessary for survival in animals and humans, because the blood circulation system is pressurized, and a simple cut or wound would prove fatal if the bleeding were not stopped. Hemophilia is a life-threatening disease in which part of the clotting apparatus is crippled. When a cut occurs, molecular signals cause various proteins to activate to create a complex meshwork that entraps the blood cells, forming the initial clot. Clotting involves over 30 distinct individual reactions, each of which is vital to heal a wound and each of which is exceedingly complex. The coordination, order, timing, and rate of action must be exact. Omitting even one of the reactions, inserting an unwanted step, or altering the timing of a step would result in death. This is why the blood clotting system is called ‘a cascade, a system where one component activates another component’ (Alan Gillen, Body by Design, p. 74). Consider some aspects of this intricate “cascade”: First, the clot must form quickly. Second, it must form the full length of the wound with sufficient coverage to stop the bleeding. Third, it must form only in the precise location of a wound and only enough to close the wound but not close down the blood vessels (otherwise it could block circulation, which is what causes heart attacks and strokes). Fourth, the wound must be cleansed of germs and damaged cellular tissues. This is accomplished by an increase in the flow of blood enriched with white blood cells. Fifth, the clotting process must not only stop the flow of blood but also develop a new skin cover for permanent healing. The surrounding skin cells increase the rate of reproduction to create a bridge of new skin. Sixth, at the precise time when healing is completed, other protein machinery must remove the clot. The blood clotting process begins with the creation of a protein mesh to close the wound and trap the blood. It is composed of a protein called fibrinogen that is carried in the blood plasma. Another protein, thrombin, slices pieces of fibrinogen to create fibrin and connect them together to form a network. Long threads criss-cross the fibrin to entrap the blood cells. Think of the amazing intelligence and communication that is involved throughout this process at the cellular level! How ridiculous to think that such a thing could ‘evolve’ gradually and blindly!”