Dr. William Murphy Jr., Hall of Fame Inventor and Creator of the PVC Blood Bag, Passes Away at 100

Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. is a name you likely are not familiar with, but his contributions to the world have had massive impacts. Dr. Murphy, along with his colleague Dr. Carl W. Walter, created the vinyl blood bag in 1949-50.

Dr. Murphy joined the United States Public Health Service in 1952 and went to Korea during the Korean War to demonstrate the effectiveness of his new invention. The blood bags were instrumental in transfusions for wounded soldiers. In a 2019 New York Times interview, Dr. Murphy said, “It was the first major test of the bags under battlefield conditions, and it was an unqualified success.” His invention is still the industry-accepted best practice for safely and cleanly providing blood.

This invention, oft overlooked by the public, has saved countless lives. It has changed everything related to storing, transporting, and using blood for transfusions – especially on the battlefield and in areas of natural disaster.

Dr. Murphy passed away last week at the age of 100, and our team wanted to honor him by relaying his name and story to as many people as possible. Prior to his invention, blood was stored in glass bottles. This was problematic for numerous reasons – they broke easily, they were difficult to keep sterile, they were prone to air bubbles which complicated transfusions, they were bulky and took up lots of space in refrigerators – in short, they were worse in nearly every single way.

This is why Dr. Murphy’s invention was, and continues to be, so vital in the world of healthcare. PVC blood bags are the polar opposite of their glass counterparts – they DON’T break easily, they AREN’T difficult to keep sterile, they AREN’T prone to air bubbles, and they DON’T take up much space in a refrigerator. All of those improvements would be reason enough to celebrate Dr. Murphy for his invention – but the biggest benefit wasn’t even discovered until after they had been widely adopted for all of the previous reasons listed.

PVC blood bags keep blood safe and usable for considerably longer than glass. PVC blood bags can store blood for up to 42 days[1], which is vital in the world of healthcare where every minute counts. Beyond that, we’re amid a blood shortage around the world, and the fact that vinyl blood bags keep blood safe and clean for longer than any alternative has helped avoid outright calamity.

The world lost an amazing inventor in Dr. William P. Murphy. Vinyl blood bags may be our favorite of his creations, but he was hugely important in creating new technologies for pacemakers, artificial kidneys, and many sterile devices (like trays, scalpels, syringes, and catheters). By the time Dr. Murphy retired from Cordis Corp. in 1985, he held 17 patents.

Dr. Murphy and his colleague Dr. Walter’s invention of the vinyl blood bag has saved millions of lives. We would like to offer our condolences to his family, as well as celebrate his long, successful life.

[1] Carmen, R. (Jan. 1993): The Selection of Plastic Materials for Blood Bags, Transfusion Medicine Reviews, Vol. VII, No. 1