Lab-grown individuals set to receive transfusions of artificial blood in experiments
In the world of medicine, the future is not just about curing diseases but also about reinventing the building blocks of life. This is evident in the groundbreaking research on synthetic blood, a development that could revolutionize treatment for specific patient groups and global health infrastructure.
In 2017, a world-first clinical trial of synthetic blood, manufactured entirely from stem cells, was launched in the UK. The trial, approved by the UK's National Health Service (NHS), involves volunteers receiving just a few teaspoons of the lab-grown blood to monitor for adverse effects.
The synthetic blood is made from real human stem cells, either taken from discarded umbilical cords or reprogrammed from adult blood cells. The initial production will be from adult donor cells, with umbilical cord-derived cells to be considered later if the trials are successful.
The goal is to provide specialist treatment for specific patient groups, such as individuals with rare blood types, patients with chronic blood disorders, and situations where infection risk must be minimized. For most people, donor blood is still the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective option. Countries like Sweden have launched campaigns to remind donors of the importance of their contributions.
However, lab-grown blood could offer several advantages. It could be screened more thoroughly, eliminating risks of viral contamination, and customized to minimize immune rejection in recipients. New research has identified signals like CXCL12 that improve the efficiency of producing red blood cells from reprogrammed cells, potentially enabling an almost unlimited cell source.
In Japan, clinical trials led by Nara Medical University involve a novel artificial red blood cell product (NMU-HbV) that mimics the oxygen-carrying function of natural RBCs. These lab-grown cells require no blood type matching and have a significantly extended shelf life, addressing the issues of blood shortages and storage constraints.
The ability to produce rare blood types on demand would help bridge chronic shortages that particularly affect patients with uncommon blood groups or chronic blood disorders needing frequent transfusions. Personalized synthetic blood could also minimize immune reactions and improve outcomes in patients with conditions like sickle cell disease or thalassemia by enabling autologous (self-derived) blood production.
Since lab-grown red blood cells can be produced pathogen-free and do not involve donor blood, they carry virtually no risk of transmitting infections like HIV or hepatitis, a critical advantage in transfusion safety.
Despite the advancements in synthetic blood, the production of synthetic blood is currently limited, time-consuming, and costly, with each batch taking weeks to develop and yielding only a few milliliters. Until synthetic blood can be mass-produced at scale, human donors remain irreplaceable.
In summary, lab-grown red blood cells are moving from experimental phases towards clinical application, with controlled trials underway and commercialization possible within this decade. Their universal compatibility, long shelf life, and ability to be customized for rare types and chronic conditions herald a potential transformation in transfusion medicine. These advances promise to minimize infection risk, alleviate global blood shortages, and improve patient care in scenarios where conventional donor blood is limited or risky.
Advanced research in the realm of science and technology is leading to the development of personalized synthetic blood, a promising solution that could revolutionize health-and-wellness for individuals with medical-conditions such as rare blood types, chronic blood disorders, and immunocompromised patients. Moreover, therapies-and-treatments using synthetic blood could potentially minimize infection risks, address global blood shortages, and improve outcomes for various health-and-wellness scenarios.
