The blood is no longer infused with oxygen from the lungs.. . Blood is a bright red in its oxygenated form (i.e., leaving the lungs), when hemoglobin is bound to oxygen to form oxyhemoglobin. It's a dark red in its deoxygenated form (i.e., returning to the lungs), when hemoglobin is bound to carbon dioxide to form carboxyhemoglobin.