The present invention is directed to a blood aspiration system that is configured to enable various types of aspiration through a working lumen of a catheter. The blood aspiration system facilitates natural aspiration by providing a circuit between a patient's arterial and venous vasculature, and also comprises a manually actuated pump configured to selectively vary rates of aspiration in the working lumen. The blood aspiration system further comprises an external port that allows suction-assisted aspiration or infusion through the working lumen, and further comprises a detachable filter that removes emboli prior to reperfusing blood into a patient's venous vasculature.
