Human, cattle and goat blood as substitutes for sheep blood in blood-supplemented culture media

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: Sheep blood is the recommended type of blood for supplementation of agar media. In Sri Lanka, due to lack of availability of sheep blood, expired citrated human blood is used which gives poor haemolysis and causes difficulties in identification of some organisms. In addition, human blood contains antibodies and other antibacterial factors including antibiotics which may inhibit bacterial growth. Human blood may also contain blood borne pathogens which could be a risk for laboratory staff. The objective of this study was to explore available alternatives in the Sri Lankan setting.