Artificial blood made from human stem cells will be tested in patients for the first time by researchers in the United Kingdom, Press Trust of India reported.
In a ground-breaking trial, the research could pave the way for manufacturing of blood on an industrial scale, eventually superseding donated blood as the main supply for patients.
"We have made red blood cells, for the first time, that are fit to go in a person's body. Before now, we haven't really had that," said Marc Turner, medical director at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, who is leading the five million pounds project at the University of Edinburgh in 2016.
Thalassaemia, a disorder of the red blood cells that requires regular transfusions, will be tested through three patients in the trial. According to PTI, around five ml of blood will be received by the patients to test whether the cells behave normally in the body.
Although Turner speculated that artificial blood might become the norm in 20 years, he also stressed on the fact that people should not stop donating blood anytime soon.
"Turner has spent several years refining a technique to grow mature red blood cells from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells - adult skin or blood cells that have been genetically reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state," The Times reported.
"The iPS cells are cultured in biochemical conditions similar to those in the human body that trigger their transition towards mature red blood cells," PTI reported. "The team has currently reached an efficiency of 40-50 per cent of initial cells turning into red blood cells, and the process takes about a month."
PTI continued, "The useable cells can then be separated from immature blood cells and remaining iPS cells using standard blood separation methods, such as centrifuging."
Rare universal blood type O- will be taken from someone's cells to make artificial blood since the blood type can be transfused into almost any patient, researchers said.
