Blood Substitutes

Nature’s Own Blood Substitute?

What may well turn out to be the most remarkable of all blood substitutes is coconut water. The Chicago Daily News, March 26, 1954, in reporting on “How Coconut Water Substitutes for Blood,” said the following:

“A researcher reported Friday that water drawn from an ordinary coconut has been used as a blood substitute and body fluid replacement in humans. Dr. Ben Eiseman of Denver said the substance may be a cheap source of suitable fluid under emergency military conditions or where pure water solutions are unavailable. Writing in the Archives of Surgery, published by the American Medical Association, he said 21 persons have received a total of 26 intravenous infusions of coconut water without any serious reactions. The preliminary studies were carried out in Bangkok, Thailand, and in St. Louis. The water was obtained by withdrawing the fluid through a tube inserted in the eye of an unripened coconut. This water was then filtered to drain off any particles of coconut meat.

“Tests showed the water was free from contamination and that its main ingredients were potassium, chloride, phosphate, sugars, magnesium, calcium and proteins. Dr. Eiseman said that while the present study was too limited to make definite conclusions, further study is warranted.”

Lemon Pectin, a Blood Substitute

During World War II, a whitish, grainy powder was found in the emergency kits of German war prisoners who stated that they had been instructed to sprinkle it onto wounds to form a clot quickly. It turned out to be pectin made from lemons. American doctors began to experiment with it and a number of recoveries were attributed to it. Only because of the extensive use of blood plasma, now rejected by many governments because of its carrying the hepatitis virus, was lemon pectin discarded.