Are Interspecies Blood Transfusions Possible?
At least in theory, interspecies blood transfusions would be possible, but only after the donor’s blood went through an extraordinarily complicated process to remove all possible antigens and foreign bodies. By the time interspecies blood transfusions became viable enough for the recipient, the cost would be prohibitively expensive compared to traditional human-to-human transfusions. There would still be a high risk of serious illness or even death triggered by a mismatched blood donation. This is not to say that interspecies blood transfusions have never been attempted. During the late 17th century, long before scientists knew about ABO blood typing, some human patients were subjected to transfusions of sheep’s blood in an attempt to restore vitality. A few patients who received these interspecies blood transfusions did recover, most likely in spite of the procedure. The rest of the recipients died as a result of severe allergic reactions or other dangerous conditions associated with
