Horseshoe Crab’s Blue Blood Has Become A Threat To Its Existence

Can an animal’s blood be good for humans? A might be a little strange to hear, but this is reality. The blood of a crab found in the sea of ​​North America is considered elixir. This crab is called Horseshoe, and its blood is not red but blue in color. Horseshoe crabs are prehistoric creatures and are present on Earth for 45 million years.

The crab appears like a horseshoe, hence its name is Horseshoe Crab. Although the blue blood of the crab has now become a threat to its existence. In medical science, its blood is useful for its anti-bacterial property.

As the blood in humans and other animals contains hemoglobin, which takes oxygen to different parts of the body, this crab’s blood contains a copper-based Hemocyanin which takes oxygen into all parts of the crab’s body.

Crab blue blood is used to make drugs that are injected inside human bodies to identify dangerous bacteria present within the body. Their milky blue blood can detect even minute traces of endotoxins, and so the Food and Drug Administration requires all intravenous drugs to be tested with horseshoe crab blood. The crab’s blue blood costs about US$15,000 per liter, and more than 5 lakh crabs are killed every year for their blood.

These crabs are caught from different places. They are -washed and cleaned and then taken to the lab. The crabs are fitted on a stand and then a syringe is injected in a vein near their mouth. The blood coming from the syringe is then collected in a bottle.