In fact, as the basis of a new human blood substitute – Hemopure - cow’s blood is now being seen in some quarters as the key to the alleviation of the African Aids crisis.

With the continent registering the world’s highest levels of HIV infection, the amount of non-infected blood available to doctors in Africa is shrinking, with a consequent increase in deaths from anaemia and other blood diseases. Backers of Hemopure, developed by the American biological drug company Biopure, say the new product could save lives across the continent by providing doctors for the first time with a safe, man-made substitute for blood.

Biopure sources its raw material, the protein haemoglobin, from managed herds of U.S. beef cattle (an abundant source in a BSE-free country) with documentation assuring the origin, medical history, feed (no mammalian protein) and young age of the cattle. These "safe sourcing" controls are not and cannot be applied to the human donor pool and, as such, represent additional safeguards compared to human blood products. In addition, Hemopure is compatible with all blood types and is approved in South Africa as stable over a broad temperature range, including room temperature, for two years. In contrast, refrigerated red blood cells are type specific and have a maximum shelf life of 42 days.

Injected intravenously, Hemopure works by delivering oxygen efficiently from the lungs to all parts of the body. In doing so, the drug performs the same function of red blood cells, which are seriously depleted in Aids and other blood disease sufferers. Biopure’s claims are supported by the South African government, which last week became the first in the world to approve Hemopure.

To ensure that there is no contamination from the bovine source of the molecules that are used in its manufacture, twenty rounds of clinical trials have been held in America and Europe.