Human blood is so special that it has not yet been possible to create a replacement fluid. However, a British research team is beginning to test her artificially created blood for the first time. First tests with two people are promising.
Researchers in Great Britain are taking a decisive step forward in their efforts to create artificial blood. They have started the world’s first clinical trial in which laboratory-grown blood is transfused into humans. The BBC reports, citing the research team, which includes teams from Bristol, Cambridge and London working with the NHS.
Accordingly, it should first be tested with tiny amounts how the artificial blood behaves in the human body. The gift is five to ten milliliters, about one to two teaspoons. The manufactured blood cells were grown from donor stem cells and then transfused to volunteers in the RESTORE clinical trial. So far, two people have received the lab-grown red blood cells. They were closely monitored, according to the research team, no adverse side effects were reported. Both are well and healthy.
The study compares the lifespan of laboratory-grown cells to infusions of standard red cells from the same donor. The lab-grown blood cells are fresh, so the study team expects them to perform better than a similar transfusion of standard donated red blood cells that contains cells of different ages.
The idea is that manufactured cells stay in the body longer. Then the number of transfusions that patients need blood on a regular basis could possibly be reduced. This would reduce iron oversupply from constant blood transfusions, which can lead to serious complications.
A total of ten test persons are to receive a dose of blood with standard donated red blood cells and one with red blood cells grown in the laboratory at intervals of four months. The study is the first step towards making lab-grown red blood cells available as a future clinical product. For the foreseeable future, however, manufactured cells could only be used for a few patients with very specific transfusion needs, such as rare blood groups or sickle cell anemia. The need for normal blood donations will continue to exist.
Professor Ashley Toye, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Bristol, said the study is a major step in the production of blood from stem cells, according to a statement from the university. This is the first time blood grown in the lab has been transferred, “and we’re excited to see how well the cells will perform at the end of the clinical trial.” Her goal is “to make as much blood as possible in the future, so my vision is a room full of machines that continuously make blood from a normal blood donation,” Toye told the BBC.
