Blood substitute

For the rugby union and rugby league term, see blood replacement.

A blood substitute (also called artificial blood or blood surrogate) is a substance used to mimic and fulfill some functions of biological blood. In some cases, it can serve as an alternative to blood transfusion, a therapy using donated blood or blood-based products.

When referring to blood substitutes that are oxygen-carrying, the term oxygen therapeutics is increasingly used to emphasize their intended primary use in treating severe anemia. Such blood substitutes must compensate for oxygen's poor solubility, due to which dissolved oxygen typically accounts for only a fraction of oxygen transport; in humans, hemoglobin is the most important oxygen carrier. There are two categories of oxygen-carrying blood substitutes being pursued: hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOC) and perfluorocarbon-based products. As of yet, there are no standard oxygen therapeutics in use internationally, although in various countries several enjoy limited approval for specific applications or are undergoing clinical trials.

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