# Is blood drinkable at refrigerator temperature? (Need Answer Fast.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670 "2008-09-15T05:55:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/1 "2008-09-15T05:55:18Z")
Well, before tuesday would be nice, anyway. My daughter’s mom has filed some classic ‘satanic abuse allegations’ that include my having drunk blood out of glass I took out of the ‘fridge’. My farmgirl buddy assures me blood is undrinkable at that temp. Might anyone point me to a scientific cite to confirm? I don’t currently have a printer working, but the title to an article or research paper would be mighty nice. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/2 "2008-09-15T06:06:18Z")
This may or may not be helpful, but blood banks like to store blood at around 40 degrees F (sorry I can’t be more precise, I think it was something like 44 degrees, but this is from memory based on research I did ten years go) which is about the same temp as a typical refrigerator. Hospitals have blood warmers to warm it up before transfusions. This is both to help the flow and to keep the recipient from getting hypothermia from the transfusion. This isn’t going to help you, though. The cold blood is sluggish, but not solid. You could probably drink it if you were good and determined. If you can’t find a source on the Internet, call a blood bank. They’re probably used to weird questions. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/3 "2008-09-15T06:22:51Z")
I’m a biologist and the one time I worked with whole human blood, I poured it directly from the bag which was stored at 4 degrees Celsius. So, I guess it is definitely “drinkable” if you can manage to get it down. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/4 "2008-09-15T07:06:11Z")
I think there is an important difference. The blood you two are talking about is in a sealed container, whereas a glass of blood would be open to the atmosphere. The blood open to the atmosphere might dry out and scab over, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/5 "2008-09-15T07:33:08Z")
_Is blood drinkable?_ I guess it’s physically drinkable, but IIRC your stomach will reflexively vomit it back up regardless of the “eww” factor involved. I believe I was told this by a professor of mine, I will do my best to dig up an actual cite. Something to do with the hemoglobin in the red blood cells I think. And yes, in my blood bank the packed red cell products for transfusion, as well as thawed plasma are stored at 4-6° Celcius. Hijacks: Blood does not necessarily need to be warmed to transfuse, although blood warmers do exist. The main reasons for warming the blood is due to massive transfusions as well as some patients who have cold-reacting red cell antibodies. I’m sure there are plenty of other patiens who we use warmers for but mostly because they’ve shown signs/symptoms of tolerating transfusions better that way. I also don’t think the “scabbing” over problem would be too bad unless it’s been sitting for a long time. Evaporation is much slower at lower temps, and for crissakes whom among us puts a cup of blood in the fridge without a cover on it? Sheesh. BRB after I find a cite for the hemoglobin + stomach = vomit thing. Your resident blood banker, **bbs2k** CLS (NCA) ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/6 "2008-09-15T08:03:33Z")
> [@bbs2k](#): > > BRB after I find a cite for the hemoglobin + stomach = vomit thing. Well, you can ignore this for now, until I find better cites. Anecdotally there seems to be a lot of information about people who _DO_ drink blood. More animal blood rather than people blood , like the Maasai, and I now recall seeing peple doing it for whatever religious reasons on a National Geographic channel show. So now the question again goes back to “Is blood drinkable **at that temp** ”. The thing about the blood we keep in the fridges here is that it’s all treated with anticoagulants so the clotting factors don’t activate and coagulate the blood. When a phlebotomist draws your blood for lab tests there are a number of different specimen tubes they can use. Some include EDTA, some include no additives. Without additives the red cells and plasma will usually seperate so it looks like on big red booger floating in a clear straw colored liquid. So I guess we need more info. Human blood? Animal blood? Whole blood vs. some stuff you stole from my lab? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/7 "2008-09-15T09:48:56Z")
Wow, one of the weirdest, but also most promising, thread titles lately. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/8 "2008-09-15T10:26:02Z")
> [@bbs2k](#): > > _Is blood drinkable?_ > > I guess it’s physically drinkable, but IIRC your stomach will reflexively vomit it back up regardless of the “eww” factor involved. I believe I was told this by a professor of mine, I will do my best to dig up an actual cite. Something to do with the hemoglobin in the red blood cells I think. Complete and total bullshit - lots of people around the world drink blood, and drinking fresh blood from a slaughterhouse was even done among Europeans and Americans in the 19th Century. A number of European cultures have recipes utilizing blood as food. And, from personal experience, I had a lot of nosebleeds as kids and as a result swallowed quite a bit of my own blood - no vomiting, no tummy aches, no twinges. Puking after drinking blood is purely “ick” factor at work. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/9 "2008-09-15T10:47:17Z")
How fast would a glass full of blood open to the air and at refrigerator temperatures clot up? As a kid I once had a nosebleed that put out about three tablespoons of blood (it filled up about 3/4 of the quarter-cup measuring cup I was using to catch the blood), and by the time the nosebleed was completely over the majority of the blood had clotted up into a bizarre rubbery mass. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/10 "2008-09-15T11:17:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Complete and total bullshit - You’re right, I should have corrected myself a half an hour later after I realized that I mis-remembered hearing something a number of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/11 "2008-09-15T11:49:11Z")
Run, not walk to the nearest telephone and call the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and ask their best advice. You can find more info at [http://www.fmsfonline.org/](http://www.fmsfonline.org/) I know the founders quite well and they are for real. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/12 "2008-09-15T11:58:18Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Run, not walk to the nearest telephone and call the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and ask their best advice. You can find more info at [http://www.fmsfonline.org/](http://www.fmsfonline.org/) I know the founders quite well and they are for real. Didn’t people quit falling for this batshit insane ‘satanic abuse’ stuff years ago? Am I hopelessly naive to think that this accusation will get laughed out of court? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/13 "2008-09-15T12:17:25Z")
> [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > Didn’t people quit falling for this batshit insane ‘satanic abuse’ stuff years ago? Am I hopelessly naive to think that this accusation will get laughed out of court? I just read **The Monster of Florence** , the true account of Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi and their involvement in the investigation of an Italian serial killer, and apparently the whole “massive Satanic cult conspiracy” story is still being taken seriously by the press and the judicial system there. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/14 "2008-09-15T13:51:00Z")
> [@Khampelf](#): > > My daughter’s mom has filed some classic ‘satanic abuse allegations’ … Yeah…I’m sorry…um…what? Are ‘satanic abuse allegations’ a commonplace occurance where you’re from? Because I wasn’t aware they were ‘classic’. Also, it occurs to me that you might actually look more guilty if you show up to court or the witchhunter general’s office or whatever it is where you are with a defense of ‘you couldn’t drink blood at that temperature’ instead of the more traditional defense of ‘my wife is clearly a lunatic’. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/15 "2008-09-15T15:57:10Z")
> [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > Didn’t people quit falling for this batshit insane ‘satanic abuse’ stuff years ago? Am I hopelessly naive to think that this accusation will get laughed out of court? I think most did, but the last I looked there were still prosecutors who jump on the opportunity to make a name for themself by pandering to the basest human instincts. At one point “they” were claiming that 50,000 human infants were being killed and eaten by satanic cults! And no one noticed the missing tots. Amazing. There are still wrongly accused people in prison. In Massachusetts where successive governors have refused to pardon them although their innocence has become apparent. Is there any possibility that your ex saw you drink tomato juice? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/16 "2008-09-15T16:00:31Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah…I’m sorry…um…what? > Are ‘satanic abuse allegations’ a commonplace occurance where you’re from? Because I wasn’t aware they were ‘classic’. > > Also, it occurs to me that you might actually look more guilty if you show up to court or the witchhunter general’s office or whatever it is where you are with a defense of ‘you couldn’t drink blood at that temperature’ instead of the more traditional defense of ‘my wife is clearly a lunatic’. Plus, if you did try to use the “undrinkability” defense, you’d be open to her saying “Undrinkable? Pshaw! To a normal person, maybe, but not to a satanic cultist.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/17 "2008-09-15T16:04:52Z")
Yeah, I have to agree that it’s probably better to go the “my wife is fucking nuts” line than the “you can’t drink chilled blood” line, regardless of whether or not you really CAN drink chilled blood. Do you practice a non-mainstream religion (paganism or Wicca)? Is this part of a larger attempt to paint you as a Satanist because of that non-mainstream religion? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/18 "2008-09-15T16:50:47Z")
> [@Khampelf](#): > > Well, before tuesday would be nice, anyway. > > My daughter’s mom has filed some classic ‘satanic abuse allegations’ that include my having drunk blood out of glass I took out of the ‘fridge’. My farmgirl buddy assures me blood is undrinkable at that temp. Damn, didn’t the Satanic Ritual Abuse hysteria go out of style in the **1980s**? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/19 "2008-09-15T17:20:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah…I’m sorry…um…what? > Are ‘satanic abuse allegations’ a commonplace occurance where you’re from? Because I wasn’t aware they were ‘classic’. There were some very high-profile cases back in the 80s, usually involving kids in daycare and overzealous therapists. The children, being highly suggestive, were prompted by their therapists’ questioning to tell these highly fantastic stories about Satanism, kids being killed and eaten in class, black masses, and other stuff that was clearly bullshit. Unfortunately, many lives were ruined and a lot of people wound up in jail, b/c (IIRC) at the time people didn’t really understand the phenomenon of false memories, or how easy it is to stimulate children to testify to fantasies as if they were reality. ETA: [Linky-loo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse)describing the hysteria and some of the more prominent cases. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670/20 "2008-09-15T17:20:37Z")
Related thread: [Is refrigerated blood drinkable? - Need answer fast.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481681&highlight=blood) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-drinkable-at-refrigerator-temperature-need-answer-fast/463670.md?page=2)