If you have ever had a vaccination or surgery, you are almost certain to have benefited from the horseshoe crab. Its bright blue blood, due to a high concentration of copper, has been used for forty years as a diagnostic test for endotoxins. A component of some bacteria, endotoxins can cause fever, toxic shock, and even organ failure. Even sterilization does not eliminate it.
So vaccines (including COVID-19), IVs, pacemakers, artificial hip and knee joints, etc. must be screened for its presence. Horseshoe crab blood clots in the presence of endotoxin. It can also detect beta-glucans (indicative of fungal infection) within hours whereas other diagnostics take up to a week.
Horseshoe crabs are known as “living fossils” since they are almost identical to their fossilized ancestors. A staple today in the medical industry, they are raised in aquacultures or caught commercially and “donate” their blood in laboratories before they are released to the wild again. Conservation restrictions have been initiated on harvesting to ensure that crab numbers do not decline. Compassionate animal care is a biblical principle of creation stewardship (Proverbs 12:10; 1 Corinthians 4:2).
“God’s design for this crab is, in turn, provision for us,” wrote Troy Lacy. “The horseshoe crab’s intriguing designs make it a medical marvel, benefitting humans… and presenting Christians with a unique opportunity to mitigate the effects of the curse by wisely stewarding God’s creation.”
Source: Answers Magazine, “Lifesaving Living Fossil,” Troy Lacey, Vol. 16, No. 3, July-Sept 2021, pp. 14-17.
