Man Made Blood

According to British authorities, 'man-made blood' will be available to be transfused into humans in the next two years. Research assistant director, Dr. Nicholas Watkins, who specializes in NHS blood and transplant research and development states that the intention behind such research is to offer specific patient groups special treatment according to their disease, illness, etc. It is NOT for the intention to replace human donation. Scientists across the globe have been investigating for a number of years how to manufacture red blood cells to offer an alternative to donated blood to treat patients," he said. "We are confident that by 2017 our team will be ready to carry out the first early phase clinical trials in human volunteers. These trials will compare manufactured cells with donated blood. Continued investment in research and development is critical to our role in saving and improving lives through blood and organ donation." (A)

Scary Decline in Blood Donations:

Quiet recently, a warning of the evolving crisis of blood donation along with the huge decline of volunteers offering to donate blood according to NHS authorities. Figures show that there have been  40% fewer donors that came from England and Wales between the years of 2014 and 2015 compared to the years 2004 and 2005. This dramatic decline has been blamed on individuals with excessive tattoos and exotic holidays that do not permit these individuals to donate. (A)There needs to be an increase of 70% or 204,000 new blood donors to ensure that the nation's blood stocks are at a 'safe' or 'secure' level. Other reasons as to why such a dramatic decline in blood donors is because people are too busy and exotic travel which eliminates many candidates for donation in the short-term. (A)

Research Conducted:

Blood making or hematopoietic stem cells give birth to every cell circulating in your blood system whether they are RBCs, WBCs, or platelets. These stem cells contain within them the secret to stress, old age, and disease. The fates of these unspecialized cells occur in the bone marrow and shape blood production. The bone marrow is where the hematopoietic stem cells decide what type of blood cells need to be made before being released into circulation. (B)

Emmanuelle Passegué's work on rejuvination and longer life span stems from her passion of studying blood. Eager to find out through her research how we age and our body's response to diseases. Her primary goal is to develop effective remedies for blood diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, bone marrow failures, and anemia. 

Recently, her interest in blood and her focus soon became 'how aging affects hematopoietic stem cells'. There are only a certain number of hematopoietic stem cells that we are born with and because these stem cells age with us, there will be only a few remaining hematopoietic stem cells that will still function properly. Subsequently, this leaves our bodies increasingly vulnerable to various infections, blood diseases, and fatal illnesses.(B)

 In their paper, Cell Stem Cell', Passegue and her UCSF lab team described that if the causes of the decline in functionality which is heavy age-related can be understood, then the possibility to rejuvenate the older stem cells so that the health of the entire blood system can be maintained then the possibility of a longer life is possible. (B)

Other researchers, besides Passque and her UCSF lab team, are investigating the use of adult stem cells and blood from umbilical cord as alternatives for blood donation, specifically those with complex blood types who have a difficult time finding compatible donors so that the body does not reject the donation. (A) 

Biomedical engineers from the human bone marrow have produced functional blood platelets, also known as the cells within our circulatory system that causes clots to form, within the lab. This first step, is bringing researchers and scientists closer to man-made blood transfusions. This type of transfusion has only been tested on lab mice. The NHS Blood and Transport is one of eight goals of the 2020 Research and Development program that aims to develop transfusion, transplantation and regenerative medicine over the next five years. (A) Recent research program lead by Bristol, Cambridge, and Oxford Universities, are dedicated to patients with sickle cell anemia and thalassemia who need regular blood transfusions with their treatments. (A)

Links:
(A)http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11697294/Blood-made-in-the-lab-will-be-given-to-humans-in-two-years.html
(B)https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/08/131406/emmanuelle-passegue-making-better-blood

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