Scientists explore artificial blood production amid blood shortages and the need for safe transfusions.

Studies by the World Health Organization (the World Health Organization) showed that millions of people die worldwide every year due to the lack of access to blood.

Blood carries oxygen throughout the body and removes waste products, among many other critical functions.

The blood implanted in the laboratory on humans was used in the first clinical experiment in 2022, especially in patients with rare blood groups.

Scientists are also developing artificial blood as part of efforts to support emergency medicine, surgery and transmission.

So how close scientists are to develop artificial blood?

What is artificial blood?

Artificial blood is a wide term that includes both implanted blood and laboratory.

Artificial blood, which is still being studied, is a completely human alternative and does not contain human cells. These engineering molecules mimic blood cell function by transporting oxygen. It is mainly designed for use in emergency or military medicine, where immediate oxygen is necessary but to match blood types is difficult.

For example, the US Army has invested $ 46 million in the development of erythromer, an alternative to artificial blood designed to be global and stable compatible without cooling. This product is still subject to research and testing to prove its safety and effectiveness.

On the other hand, the transplanted blood is created in the laboratory by planting human red blood cells in an environment ruled outside the body.

Sidrik Guevart, a professor of blood transfusion at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, said as soon as they are available, they could make blood cells implanted in the laboratory more effective. For example, platelets implanted in the laboratory may be better in stopping bleeding in shock patients compared to those provided to leukemia, who receive platelets to prevent bleeding instead of stopping active bleeding.

How is the implanted blood in the laboratory?

This process begins with stem cells, which are special cells that can develop into different types of cells in the body. They include red blood cells, platelets (which help blood to clot), or even skin cells, depending on the location of stem cells and how they are stimulated.

Scientists use a certain type of cells called blood -forming stem cells, which produce all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. It is found in the bone marrow – the soft tissue inside the bone – or in the donor blood.

To convert these stem cells into red blood cells, they are placed in preparing a laboratory and exposed to growth factors – natural materials that help cells to develop.

Over a period of several weeks, stem cells gradually change to ripe red blood cells and completely work like that normal.

Ghevaert explained that scientists are able to “free genes” of stem cells to increase blood production and remove the signs of blood type. This may allow them to create blood that can be given to anyone, without the need to match the specified blood types.

How close are scientists to produce artificial blood?

Blood products implanted in the laboratory or synthetic are currently currently in the research and development stage.

In 2022, there was a clinical experience in the UK a milestone by transporting red blood cells that protrude in the laboratory to human volunteers to assess safety and longevity standards.

More experiments will be needed before this product is medically approved for commercial use.

In addition, the production of blood cultivated by the laboratory is more expensive than using the donated blood.

In 2013, the Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a US government agency, reported that the chemicals required to produce one unit of blood cost that are planted at more than $ 90,000. By applying for production methods, this cost has now been reduced to less than $ 5,000 per unit. In comparison, hospitals in the United States paid $ 215 per unit of red blood cells donated in 2019.

Was artificial blood used in clinical trials?

Yes. The 2022 clinical trial in the UK was distinguished by the first example of such a procedure.

A small preliminary study in Japan in 2022 The helloglobin vesicles were tested, small artificial blood components designed to carry oxygen in the way the real red blood cells do. I studied the study whether it could be a safe and effective alternative to the transfusion of regular blood.

The study included 12 healthy volunteers from 20 to 50, divided into three groups. Each group received one intravenous injection from hemoglobin vesicles in increasing quantities: 10 ml, 50ml and 100ml.

Some participants have suffered light side effects, such as fever and rash, but these issues quickly resolved. There were no major changes in vital signs, including blood pressure.

To what extent we are from commercial blood manufacturing?

There are still many obstacles on the road to commercial blood manufacturing.

This includes how to increase production to meet clinical demand while ensuring the safety and functions of cultivated or synthetic blood products.

In addition, organizers such as the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Pharmaceutical Agency still determine whether the transplanted blood should be classified with the laboratory as a treatment or medicine for cells, which will determine how it will be organized.

“This is a new type of product for any organizer, which means that we are in an unknown area,” he said.

Can artificial blood be made for rare blood groups?

Yes, the transplanted blood can be designed in the laboratory for rare blood types.

Artificial blood, which is free of cells, carries oxygen without the need for specific blood type signs. This can make it a global alternative to transportation, which reduces the need for accurate congruences.

Besides the ABO and RHESUS, scientists have identified 36 other blood system, each with unique properties.

In total, there are more than 600 different antigens – small signs on the surface of the red blood cells that help the immune system to identify blood as “safe” or “foreign”.

The blood type is rare if it lacks the common antigens that most people have or have unusual antigens that most people do not do. This makes it difficult to find donors who are compatible with transportation.

The frequency of rare blood types varies between the various population groups and ethnic groups, which means that some people may have difficulty finding a safe blood match from others.

For example, “Blood Blood”, which has originated in India, is a rare subcontractor of O Slood Form. With less than one in every 10,000 people around the world, it is the most common in India, Iran and parts of Southeast Asia.

Can artificial blood establish a global blood deficiency?

Experts say artificial blood has the ability to reduce global blood shortage, especially in low -income countries.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 118.5 million blood donations are collected around the world, with 40 percent in high -income countries, which include only 16 percent of the world’s population.

Recent studies also indicate that approximately 2000 units of blood per 100,000 people are required to meet global medical demands, however severe shortage continues, especially in sub -Saharan Africa, South Asia and Oceania.

In these areas, where the blood supply is very low, the death rates caused by bleeding are much higher than the richer countries.

Rural societies in low and medium-income countries are the most difficult blow, and “blood deserts”- areas where more than 75 percent of patients who need blood transfusion can reach.

However, this deficiency is primarily due to the storage of blood and access to problems. For example, with blood banks there are hours, doctors in these areas are forced to delay or cancel surgeries to save life.

Jeffart said that one of the main advantages of implanted blood in the laboratory is also its value in crisis situations, such as epidemics, wars or natural disasters when there is a sudden increase in demand.