How close are scientists close to the production of artificial blood? | News of science and technology
Scientists are investigating artificial blood production due to lack of blood and the need for safe transfusions.
Millions of people die every year globally due to lack of blood access to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Blood carries oxygen all over the body and removes waste products, among many other critical functions.
Laboratory grown blood was used on people in the first clinical trial of 2022, especially in patients with rare blood groups.
Scientists also work on the development of synthetic blood as part of the effort to support emergency medicine, surgery and transfusions.
So how close are scientists close to the development of artificial blood?
What is artificial blood?
Artificial blood is a wide expression that includes both laboratory and synthetic blood.
The synthetic blood, which is still studied, is completely created man and contains no human cells. These engineering molecules imitate the function of blood cells by transport oxygen. It is designed mainly for emergency use or military medicine, where it is necessary to currently supply oxygen, but it is difficult to reconcile blood species.
For example, the United States Army has invested $ 46 million in the development of Eritromera, synthetic blood substitutes are intended for universally compatible and stable without cooling. This product is still undergoing research and testing to determine its safety and efficiency.
On the other hand, blood in the lab is created by the cultivation of human red blood cells in a controlled environment outside the body.
Once they are available, blood cells grown in the laboratory could do the treatment of certain medical cases more effective, said Cedric GhevaErt, professor of transfusion medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. For example, thrombocytes in the laboratory can be better in stopping bleeding in patients with trauma compared to those who have given patients with leukemia, receiving thrombocytes to prevent bleeding rather than stop active bleeding.
How is laboratory blood made?
This procedure begins with stem cells, which are special cells that can develop into different types of cells in the body. They include red blood cells, thrombocytes (which help in blood clotting) or even skin cells, depending on where stem cells are located and how they are stimulated.
Scientists use a specific type of cells called hematopoietic stem cells, which produce all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and thrombocytes. They are found in a bone marrow – a soft tissue inside the bone – or in the donor blood.
In order to turn these stem cells into red blood cells, they are placed in a laboratory setting and exposed to growth factors – natural substances that help cells.
For several weeks, stem cells gradually change to mature red blood cells and function like natural.
Ghevaert explained that scientists are able to “edit” the stem cells to increase blood production and eliminate blood group markers. This could allow them to create blood that can be applied to anyone, without having to suit certain blood types.
How close are scientists close to the production of artificial blood?
Laboratory or synthetic blood products are currently only in the study and development phase.
2022, a clinical trial in the UK marked a turning point by switching red blood cells in a laboratory to human volunteers to evaluate their safety standards and longevity.
It would be required more trials before this product can be medically approved for commercial use.
In addition, the production of blood grown in the laboratory is currently much more expensive than the use of donated blood.
In 2013, the Agency for Advanced Research Projects (DARPA), US Government Agency, reported that chemical materials needed to produce one blood unit in the laboratory cost more than $ 90,000. Through progress in production methods, this cost is now reduced to less than $ 5,000 per unit. For comparison, hospitals in the United States paid an average of $ 215 per unit donated red blood cells in 2019.
Did artificial blood used in clinical trials?
That. Clinical trial in the UK in 2022 marked the first degree of such procedure.
A small initial study in Japan in 2022 tested the hemoglobin vesicles, small components of artificial blood designed to carry oxygen in the way that make real red blood cells. The study examined whether they could be a safe and effective alternative to regular blood transfusions.
The study included 12 healthy male volunteers aged 20 to 50, divided into three groups. Each group received one intravenous injection of hemoglobin vesicular in increasing amount: 10 ml, 50 ml and 100 ml.
Some participants experienced mild side effects, such as fever and rashes, but these questions quickly got rid of. There were no significant changes in vital signs, including blood pressure.
How commercial we are from blood production?
There are still several obstacles on the way to commercial blood production.
They include a question of how to increase production to satisfy clinical demand, at the same time ensuring the safety and functionality of laboratory or synthetic blood products.
In addition, regulators such as the US Food and Medicines Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency are still determined whether blood in the laboratory should be classified as cell therapy or medicine, which would determine that it will be regulated, GhevaErt explained.
“This is a new type of product for any regulator, which means we are in an unknown territory,” he said.
Can artificial blood be made for rare blood groups?
Yes, blood in the lab can be adapted to rare blood types.
Synthetic blood, which is without cells, carries oxygen without the need for specific blood group markers. This could make a universal transfusion alternative, reducing the need for accurate matching.
In addition to typical blood groups of Abbo and Rhesus, scientists have identified 36 other blood groups systems, each with unique characteristics.
In total, there are more than 600 different antigens on the surface of red blood cells – tiny markers that help the immune system recognize blood as “safe” or “side”.
The blood group is considered rare if it lacks the usual antigens that most people have or own unusual antigens that most people do not have. This makes it difficult to find compatible transfusion donors.
The incidence of rare blood species varies between different populations and ethnic groups, which means that some people may have harder to find safe blood than others.
For example, the “Bombay Blood”, which came from India, is a rare subset of the blood group O. with a frequency of less than one of 10,000 people around the world, most often in India, Iran and parts of Southeast Asia.
Can artificial blood form a global blood deficiency?
Artificial blood can alleviate global blood defects, especially in low and medium income countries, experts say.
According to WHO, about 118.5 million blood donations have been collected around the world, and 40 percent have been collected in high-income countries, which make up only 16 percent of the global population.
Recent research also shows that nearly 2,000 blood units per 100,000 people need to meet global medical needs, but serious disadvantages still exist, especially in Subsahar’s Africa, South Asia and Oceania.
In these regions, where blood supply is critically low, mortality rate from bleeding are significantly higher than in richer countries.
Rural communities in low-and-medium-sized countries are the hardest to be affected, forming “blood deserts”- areas where more than 75 percent of patients who need transfusion cannot access blood.
However, these disadvantages are primarily due to blood storage and approach problems. For example, with coasts of blood often for hours, doctors in these regions are forced to delay or cancel life rescue operations.
GhevaErt said that one of the key blood benefits in the lab will also be its value in crisis situations, such as pandemic, wars or natural disasters when there is a sudden increase in demand.
