The problem with blood is that we never have enough. Research has been ongoing into creating a synthetic blood replacement but, try as we might, it’s not the easiest thing to produce. A team in Scotland from Edinburgh University decided to work with, rather than against, nature, and have come up with a way to create artificial blood from human bone marrow.
The creation process involves taking stem cells from healthy bone marrow and nurturing them in a lab. The resulting liquid is not quite as good as the real deal, but of a sufficient quality to be used temporarily. It can also be tailor-made into a specific type, with the universal donor O-negative being at the front of the line.
Hopefully we’ll hear more details in the coming months of how exactly it works, and if the process can be used for mass production purposes — a crucial point if the technology is to ever see wide adoption.
The team will embark on human trials in two to three years. Until then, we’ll continue to make do with donations and saline.
Image: Wikipedia
Stewart
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 1:41 PMHang on, didn’t someone receive an artificial blood transfusion months ago?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-05/synthetic-blood-saves-womans-life/2704302
Logan Booker
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 2:10 PMThat’s derived from cow’s blood, from what I can see. The achievement here is that they’ve been able to make a substitute that’s very similar to human blood using stem cells.
Kronic
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 10:08 PMTrue Blood?
Mulet
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 10:57 PMIt’s made by the Scotts, not the Japs.
So it’s roughly 35% guiness.
Bzzt
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 1:54 PMGuiness? Surely you jest..
chuck
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 2:02 PMLets hope that was just some Freudian slip or something along those lines.
Sky Bolt
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 11:00 PMIf this is going to require marrow donors instead of regular blood donors, I think there might be a rather sharp drop in donations.
Bloodless
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 10:10 AMNah, I’d say donated bones from dead bodies. If you get them quickly, you could easily get heaps of marrow from them.
TSH
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 10:23 AM…what if they harvest the marrow from fresh cadavers? I’m an organ donor and if I die in hospital they’re free to take whatever bits of me are useful, including my marrow!
Marrowmaw
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 4:34 PMI belong to no one.
Marrowmaw #1!