{"id":2923,"date":"2025-11-04T13:48:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fezaa.com\/?p=2923"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:48:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:48:32","slug":"new-blood-new-personality-the-science-and-myths-behind-blood-transfusions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fezaa.com\/?p=2923","title":{"rendered":"New Blood, New Personality? The Science and Myths behind Blood Transfusions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When people whisper that a person who has received a blood transfusion might start behaving like the donor, liking the same music, developing new habits, or even dreaming their dreams, it sounds like the plot of a mysterious film. However, how true is it?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science says: very unlikely<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood transfusion is one of the most life-saving medical procedures in the world. Every day, thousands of people receive red blood cells, plasma, or platelets to replace what they have lost during surgery, childbirth, or accidents. What they receive, however, is not the donor\u2019s personality, just the physical components that keep life flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA transfusion gives you cells, not character,\u201d a doctor once joked. \u201cYou get oxygen, not opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science beneath the myth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our blood is a carrier of oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells, not memories or emotions. The idea that blood carries personality traits belongs more to folklore than biology. Your personality, scientists remind us, lives in the brain, not in the bloodstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin Maley, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Sunderland and former NHS Blood & Transplant scientist put it simply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found no link between blood groups and personality traits. Your blood type says something about your biology, not your character.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though red blood cells contain traces of DNA, they lack the brain and nervous system structures where memory and personality truly reside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The myth has, however, been studied from a psychological angle. Dr Oliver Karam, a pediatric intensive-care specialist at the University of Geneva and lead author of a 2018 study titled Perceived Changes in Behavior and Values after a Red Blood Cell Transfusion, found that while six out of seven patients believed a transfusion could change them, this was perception, not proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur results show that while patients may feel transfusions could modify their behavior or values, we found no evidence of donor-personality being transmitted,\u201d said Dr. Karam.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renowned transfusion-medicine researcher Dr. Willy A. Flegel of the U.S. National Institutes of Health has likewise emphasized that blood-group genetics, though complex \u201cconcern antigens and immune reactions, not human personality or consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you receive blood from someone brave, artistic, or even grumpy, do not expect to start painting masterpieces or arguing about football right after surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why people feel \u201cdifferent\u201d afterward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it is easy to understand why the myth persists. Many patients say they \u201cfeel changed\u201d after a transfusion, lighter, calmer, or more emotional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors and researchers explain that this is often due to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n