The Pittsburgh Press (May 24, 1947)
Blood plasma made of stone by German war scientists
Drug used in treatment of shock, wounds revealed to U.S. Army Chemical Corps
EDGEWOOD ARSENAL, Maryland (UP) – German scientists made synthetic blood plasma out of stone during World War II and used it to save thousands of lives, Army Chemical Corps officers revealed today.
The Germans produced a drug called periston from acetaline, which in turn was produced by them from limestone and coke.
They used this drug as a substitute for blood plasma in the treatment of shock and wounds, and in transfusions. They told American chemical officers it was used 300,000 times on about 40,000 patients.
The chemical is a yellow solid which is dissolved in a solution and inserted into the veins of the patient.
Blood plasma was produced in this country during the war from whole blood gathered through the donations of millions of Americans.
One scientist said it was all the more amazing because there is no similarity between the structure of a molecule of periston and one of human blood.
The chemical officers said samples of periston have been brought to the United States together with the formula. They have been turned over to American manufacturers for possible use in this country.
More than a dozen other startling medical discoveries by German scientists have been made available to American pharmacists through the Department of Commerce.