# When we die, where does our blood go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609 "2023-04-13T03:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/1 "2023-04-13T03:49:21Z")
Does our blood go back into our heart when we die? Does it stay where it is? Assume it was a natural death. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/2 "2023-04-13T03:53:49Z")
Your blood settlles to wherever is lowest in the body, in a stage called “Livor Mortis” > **[Livor mortis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livor_mortis)** > > Livor mortis (Latin: līvor – "bluish color, bruise", mortis – "of death"), postmortem lividity (Latin: postmortem – "after death", lividity – "black and blue"), hypostasis (Greek: ὑπό, hypo, meaning "under, beneath"; στάσις, stasis, meaning "a standing") or suggillation, is the second stage of death and one of the signs of death. It is a settling of the blood in the lower, or dependent, portion of the body postmortem, causing a purplish red discoloration of the skin. When the heart stops fu Livor... ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/3 "2023-04-13T05:30:15Z")
The adult human body has about 5 liters of blood, so it clearly can’t “go back into the heart” (and is originally produced by hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow). Upon death, blood just sits vessels and capillaries until cell membranes and tissues break down, and then gradually releases oxygen which reacts with the lipids while the liquid components migrate out and evaporate, eventually leaving a soupy, somewhat waxy mush. Depending on ambient temperature, humidity, and biome, the soft tissues may desiccate, putrefy, or essentially just melt into whatever the body is resting on. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/4 "2023-04-13T05:35:22Z")
If you’re embalmed, the blood will be drained out. Not all of it, but enough to make space for the embalming fluid. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/5 "2023-04-13T06:10:24Z")
When I worked [a] the mortuary, I saw people being embalmed. Holes are made on the bottom of the feet [and hands IIRC] to inject the fluid and legs, arms and hands had to be massaged to get the fluid into them. The embalming fluid was light pink and you could see the flesh turn from white to pink as the fluid flowed. It was fascinating to seek the blood being forced out until only the embalming fluid flowed into what looked like a toilet without a seat. Edit: AFAIK, all the blood is drained and replaced by the embalming fluid. I’ve read if it’s not done properly, i.e. all the blood removed, the body will quickly decompose. Trivia: Amazingly, keep in the reefer, which is really cold, but not freezing, bodies can be there for years without decomposing. I know there’s at least one mortician here, so hopefully she’ll chime in. In the original _Andromedia Strain_, one of doctors turns over a body and says “Look at his butt”\* and the other doctor says it’s not funny. **Dr. Mark Hall:** [Removing the pants of the dead doctor] Have a look at his buttocks. **Dr. Jeremy Stone:** That’s _not_ funny. **Dr. Mark Hall:** Not meant to be! Normally, blood in a dead person goes to the lowest points. There should be marks of lividity, right? Do you see any purplish marks on his butt? **Dr. Jeremy Stone:** No… > **[The Andromeda Strain](https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain)** > > The Andromeda Strain is a novel published by Michael Crichton in 1969 about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. As the novel opens, the microorganism has killed an... ---
**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:** [April 13, 2023, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/6 "2023-04-13T10:23:07Z")
Good blood goes to Bludhaven. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/7 "2023-04-13T10:41:12Z")
What happens to the blood after it’s pumped out in the mortuary? I assume you can’t donate it. ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/8 "2023-04-13T11:55:16Z")
I’m glad I wasn’t drinking coffee at that moment because this would have made it come out of my nose. Partly because I’m imagining all of this good blood coming together to help Nightwing fight crime. ---
**Author:** ![Nightaudit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightaudit/32/17181_2.png) [@Nightaudit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightaudit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/9 "2023-04-13T14:13:38Z")
Relatives in NC own/ operate a funeral home. The blood and other bodily fluids go directly into the local sewer system to be treated and then pumped into the Catawba River. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/10 "2023-04-13T14:44:27Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > Normally, blood in a dead person goes to the lowest points. There should be marks of lividity, right? Do you see any purplish marks on his butt? Which was the first clue to understanding the cause of death (and therefore the pathogenicity of the Andromeda microbe): instantaneous [disseminated intravascular coagulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disseminated_intravascular_coagulation) – all the victim’s blood clotted in place ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/11 "2023-04-13T15:35:47Z")
And FWIW, most municipal sewer systems are essentially biological. They essentially strain out whatever solids there are (mostly stuff like plastic, wood, metal, etc…) and the wastewater then goes through a series of settling tanks and bioreactors, with a final chlorine treatment to make sure anything pathogenic is dead. The other thing is that the sheer volume of water is such that pretty much _everything_ is seriously dilute by the time it hits the treatment plant, so it’s not like it’s identifiable when they test the wastewater anyway. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/12 "2023-04-13T16:11:01Z")
Although recall from recent news, they can detect things like the level of COVID in the local wastewater if there is enough going in. I just doubt there’s a lot of blood flushing into the total sewer system every day. One toilet flush is what? About a gallon? How many times do humans flush a toilet each day vs how many times they die. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/13 "2023-04-13T17:02:00Z")
There’s also a lot of non-sewage wastewater going into a treatment plant. There’s household greywater from showers, dish washing, laundry, etc. Then there’s water from industrial processes. Fun fact - when the Budweiser plant in Fairfield CA first went online, it killed all the bacteria in the nearby wastewater treatment plant. Turns out they used a significantly alkaline cleaner to clean the tanks between batches and the plant bacteria couldn’t handle the change in pH. Now the Anheuser-Busch people call before they release their cleaning water and there’s an acid-injection pre-stage that the treatment plant turns on to neutralize the inflow. It’s probably a little more complex that just turning it on, that that’s the basic idea. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/14 "2023-04-13T17:22:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Good blood goes to Bludhaven. And Bad Blood goes back to Taylor, swiftly. ---
**Author:** ![Nightaudit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightaudit/32/17181_2.png) [@Nightaudit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightaudit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/15 "2023-04-13T17:55:52Z")
If you do home brewing and you have an aerobic septic system…you need to be careful about how much sanitizing chemicals you use and what medications you’re taking for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/16 "2023-04-14T16:53:06Z")
My father-in-law died in hospice; we (his wife, his daughter/my wife, and I) were there when he passed. We went upstairs so the family could fill out paperwork, compose themselves etc. After some time had passed, we were ready to leave, and the staff asked if we would like to say goodbye one last time before the formality of the funeral. My MIL declined, but my wife and I headed back down to pay our respects. They had laid him out on a bier in a quiet side-room that was brightly lit. Unfortunately brightly lit, as it turned out. My FIL was bald, and we could clearly see the blood that had gathered in the underside of his head, and the backs of his ears were a bright purple as well and slightly swollen. Same with his fingers. My wife was terribly upset, but I was more … sanguine. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/17 "2023-04-14T20:21:21Z")
I heard from a scholar that the Aztecs thought that livor mortis on a dead person’s back looked like a giant dark butterfly. They believed that butterflies collected warriors’ souls and took them to the underworld. One of their gods of Death is called Obsidian Butterfly. And @Daithi_Lacha I saw what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/18 "2023-04-14T20:35:23Z")
Man, hummingbirds, butterflies… Everything was badassed to the Aztecs, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/19 "2023-04-14T21:03:18Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The other thing is that the sheer volume of water is such that pretty much _everything_ is seriously dilute by the time it hits the treatment plant, so it’s not like it’s identifiable when they test the wastewater anyway. Still they can figure out how much drugs are being [consumed in different cities](https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/html/pods/waste-water-analysis_en) by the amount of metabolites (so it is not the drugs flushed down the toilet when somebody thought the police was about to bust them but the drugs consumed) in the wastewater. In Europe, Rotterdam wins in the cocaine competition, Barcelona in the cannabis event, amphetamines and metamphetamines are a Swedish speciality (very simplified, the link is more nuanced). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609/20 "2023-04-15T02:17:43Z")
Sure, but that’s parts per billion type amounts I’m guessing. What I was getting at is that in general, it’s not like there’s going to be significant amounts of cadaver blood in the wastewater stream, and what there is, is seriously diluted by the time it gets to the plant. While it may be detectable by the lab, it’s not going to be identifiable any other way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-we-die-where-does-our-blood-go/982609.md?page=2)