(RNN) - A European auction house that was selling a vial that allegedly contains blood from Ronald Reagan has canceled the auction.
A statement from PFC Auctions, an auction house based in the Channel Islands between the United Kingdom and France, said that the company negotiated between the person selling the vial and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation for the blood to be donated to the foundation.
The blood reportedly was taken from Reagan at George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC on March, 30, 1981 after he was shot in an assassination attempt.
Bidding was supposed to end today, May 24, and had reached more than $30,000.
"We are very pleased with this outcome and wish to thank the consignor and PFC Auctions for their assistance in this matter," said John Heubusch, Executive Director for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.
PFC Auctions said in the statement that the current owner of the vial, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he purchased the vial from an auction in the U.S. in February 2012.
He also said he was under the impression that the foundation was not interested in the vial when he purchased it from the original seller in February.
"The publicity generated by PFC Auctions for their current Auction has clearly highlighted the importance of this historical artifact and I would personally be delighted to see this important artifact put on public display by the Foundation," the anonymous seller said in the news release. "This now concludes matters to the benefit of The Ronald Reagan Foundation, and protects the legacy of Ronald Reagan as a President of the United States."
The seller purchased the vial in the February auction from someone who claimed his mother worked at Bio Science Laboratories in Columbia, MD, which had a contract for blood testing with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and George Washington University Hospital.
That initial seller also claimed that his mother asked her supervisor if she could keep the paperwork and the test tube, and he told her, "no problem," and the vial has been in his family ever since.
"While we contend that the removal of the vial from the hospital laboratory and the U.S. auction sale in February 2012 were not legal acts in our opinion, we are grateful to the current custodian of the vial for this generous donation to the Foundation ensuring President Reagan's blood remains out of public hands," Heubusch said.
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Bidding has been canceled in the auction that selling a vial of President Ronald Reagan's blood. (Source: PFC Auctions)
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