Bottle of desiccated normal human plasma

Glass bottle, sealed with a rubber stopper and a wax seal. The gummed label attached to the bottle reads: 'DESICCATED NORMAL HUMAN PLASMA. Representing 250 cc original normal plasma. To which has been added as a preservative 1:35,000 'Merthiolate' (sodium Ethyl Mercuri Thiosalicylate, Lilly). US Govt License No 56. No US Standard of Potency. Lot No 303625L ELI LILLY AND COMPANY INDIANAPOLIS, USA'. A cotton tape sling has been made to enclose the bottle, which may or may not be original. The bottle is 3/4 filled with a slightly yellowish, lumpy powder.

After an inter-war hiatus, the Second World War provided a real impetus to the development of blood transfusion and storage, and the preparation of plasma and serum. In Australia, the outbreak of war saw the formation of a Medical Coordination Committee which recommended that the Red Cross should take responsibility of blood donor recruitment; this was developed in conjunction with the New South Wales Blood Transfusion Service which concentrated on serum preparation. Additionally, 2 Australian Blood and Serum Preparation Unit was formed to handle the frontline organisation of blood and serum distribution. Serum proved life-saving in the treatment of burns victims (many thousands of whom required treatment during this conflict), demanding a high workload on the Blood Transfusion Service. The development of desiccated serum also took priority in the United States, with research and commercial development led by the pharmaceutical company of Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, who had, by 1943, developed the means for full-scale production of penicillin. The Australian Red Cross supplied huge amounts of blood, plasma and serum to American Pacific Forces, and much American material, usually supply by Eli Lilly, was used in Australia.