# Can diluted seawater be used instead of blood for total transfusions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 21, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461 "2015-05-21T00:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/21 "2015-05-22T12:09:56Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Ah… yes… 😕 > > Well, chlorophyll would be present in the photosynthetic microbes present in seawater. Sure, but then it would be _in_ the microbes in the dog’s bloodstream, right? Not freely floating available to work for oxygen exchange (which as you rightly point out, it doesn’t really do anyway.) > [@](#): > > Not to mention hemoglobin not only carries oxygen, but releases it (or oxygen disassociates from it) at different rates, depending on the oxygen needs of the body. The day I learned how the blood “knows” when to let go of oxygen in the bloodstream, I heard the angels singing and sat there in awe of…just everything. So freaking cool. > [@](#): > > How could they trust a completely different molecule (specializing in energy production) from a different type of organism (photosynthetic vs nonphotosynthetic) would even correctly transport the oxygen (and get rid of it at the same rates as hemoglobin does)? I thought I was making a little headway, gently pointing out that carbon monoxide is even “closer” to carbon dioxide, and hydrogen peroxide is “closer” to water, than chlorophyll is “close” to hemoglobin, and we all know that those “close” molecules don’t act the same way in the body. That did elicit a few chuckles and nods. Then they brought up the dog. :smack: > [@](#): > > Perhaps this works? :smack:😕 Smacking them in the face? Yeah, that might work. Or it might just make me feel better. 😃 (At least I’m not missing anything obvious. Thanks for confirming that. I suppose there’s no real debate here and I should have just put it into the Pit.) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/22 "2015-05-22T14:17:29Z")
Would non-GMO, organic seawater work? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/23 "2015-05-22T15:16:59Z")
Only if it’s gluten free. ---
**Author:** ![djt10](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/djt10/32/17865_2.png) [@djt10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djt10)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/24 "2024-10-29T05:48:55Z")
[http://www.rexresearch.com/quinton/quinton.htm#dog](http://www.rexresearch.com/quinton/quinton.htm#dog) It’s really best to load your brain before shooting off your mouth. In short, doing some research before voicing an uneducated opinion makes for a more convincing argument. The “Blood Substitute” author. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/25 "2024-10-29T06:05:39Z")
> [@djt10](#): > > It’s really best to load your brain before shooting off your mouth. In short, doing some research before voicing an uneducated opinion makes for a more convincing argument. > > The “Blood Substitute” author. I think it would have probably been more prudent to let this sleeping dog lie. (He’s been through a difficult procedure, after all.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/26 "2024-10-29T07:01:37Z")
Updated (and very iffy) website here: [Ocean Plasma Home Page](https://oceanplasma.com/home.html) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-diluted-seawater-be-used-instead-of-blood-for-total-transfusions/720461/27 "2024-10-29T12:33:50Z")
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