Although oil may be creeping back to the $90/barrel mark, it turns out that blood is actually a far more precious commodity.

According to a story in the new issue of Fortune, when measured per liter, blood plasma is far more valuable than oil — coming in at a whopping $20 per liter, compared a mere 18 center for a liter of oil, 23 cents for a liter of orange juice and 10 cents for a liter of milk.

Unsurprising, blood has become big business — and it’s growing.

Last years private blood companies like Baxter, Grifols and Talecreis — as opposed to public institutions like the Red Cross — handled 18.8 million blood/plasma transactions, up from 15 million in 2007.

Because of the economy, more folks may try to sell their blood — but givers are limited medically to only twice per week.