Try equal parts Dawn and Peroxide mixed together and apply and let sit. Personally, I wouldn't be afraid to use mild Clorox solution or apply bleach pen to spot. Also when using oxy add some ammonia, it bumps up the oxy cleaning power.

I've heard/read that chlorine bleach should not be used on blood/rust stains due to a chemical reaction that sets the iron.

Two things to try.

#1 i would going from least chemicals to more, being mindful of the polyester and spandex. Use salt water, as much salt as you can dissolve into the water. This will break the blood down but is better on fresh blood. Soak the spot for awhile and come back every so often to move the area of the stain back and forth. Soak overnight. Rinse a little. Take Persil 2/1 liquid and cover the stain with it straight and work it in. The enzymes in this work really well. Wash with regular wash but with tepid water. Repeat soak and wash up to a total of three washes. I usually just throw it in with other was each time. With white I might make a paste of the grab green with the bleach activator and soak the spot if there is still a residue of any kind. This has worked the best of any methods over 44 years of being a nurse, raising 4 boys and having a husband on blood thinners at least with my water. If I have an unknown stain, I always do a prewash in tepid water and usually use the Persil 2/1 to remove what I can. Hot water is last, if at all because I don't want to set anything. I hang to dry if need be to avoid any heat. The polyester and spandex will not hold up to the bleach and may yellow.

#2 Find a nice color of dye

Dadoes is correct about blood and chlorine..avoid that or you could be left with a brownish oxidized stain. You may already oxidized it with the hot water...soak it in some oxygen bleach as its got more whitening power than peroxide. Or try making a paste with some Tide with Bleach powder, use cool water, rub it in the stain and let sit a few hours.

Get Biz. It is harder to find than Oxyclean, but I think it works better. It has enzymes as well as the oxy bleach. Wet the pants and sprinkle quite a lot of Biz on the inside and outside. Rub gently to work into the fibers. Roll the pants into a ball, with the stain inside, and let set overnight. Wash the next day and let air dry. Repeat if needed.

I like Biz also but only the powder. .Sherrys suggestion is good but take into account the enzymes will die in 4 hours and the Sodium Percarbonate in 6 hours.

I've had quite a bit of success with sun bleaching on white kitchen linens. It works best if the garment is wet and even better if there is a bit of acid (lemon juice or white vinegar).

I am going through all your kind suggestions. Making modest progress. I may indeed be resorting to dye before all's said and done. I will confess, I do have another pair exactly like them laid back because I often do that when I find something I love. I deliberately own very few clothes -- all my girlfriends and sisters are horrified by my small closet -- and while I buy new clothes very rarely, I often buy multiples, which is a bit weird, I know . . . Thank you all. I will report back in a day or two, when we will perhaps be voting on a new color! ;-)

Read up on dyeing before doing it if it comes to that..cotton generally dye's well but I'm not sure about the poly and spandex

I'm glad you're okay!!!

Thanks, fillmoe. It could have been much worse. I went down with a lot of force. My neck and back are a little bit sore, but better today than yesterday. I think the pants or 95% clean after going through all the perambulations above. The last try was the Dawn dish detergent which I scrubbed in with some liquid Percil and oxy powder. I made a paste, scrubbed it with a toothbrush, then ran them through the laundry on soak for the third time. It looked clean when it came out, but to be safe, I let them line dry. If I look closely, I can still see the slightest shading where the bloodstain was. I really don't think anyone else would see it. I will keep them for my second best pair, and hope that the stain eventually fades away. Thanks, everyone!!!!

Hope you heal well, MizLizzie. Go easy on yourself for a few days.

ITA that the poly and spandex might not take the dye well. But it is worth a try if the only other option is tossing them. Definitely try the BIZ powder first.

Bleach does set rust. Darn it. Had a housekeeper who routinely added bleach to whites and also have high-iron water. Gradually ruined all our whites. Didn't realize she was doing it because she did the shopping, too.

Hang a little note in the laundry room. ..Do Not Use Chlorine Bleach.

Most people don't use it correctly to begin with.

I wore the pants today! My husband couldn't see anything. And he still has excellent eyesight. His hearing is going, but the eyes can be trusted. LOL.

Mama pinky, if housekeepers only read signs! Lol. I have signs and instructions everywhere. Even on the edge of the dishwasher. And it still doesn't work. "Please put trash only into trash cans" is only heeded after I leave a mess when raccoons rip into the trash bags for a housekeeper to clean up so she learns the hard way. That sounds horrible, but I now know from experience that it will never work as long as I pick it up. Three different housekeepers were like this

I now just try to lower the housekeeping work and do without a housekeeper. I'm not spoiled--I work ~90 hours a week. I need to offload or reduce work where I can.