The clinical trial is being carried out in the United Kingdom: the red blood cells were grown in a laboratory.
Scientists have successfully transfused lab-created blood into humans in the UK.
The research has been carried out by scientists from the UK National Services and Joint Units and is being applied to 10 healthy volunteers. The former have already spent days with the ‘artificial’ blood and have experienced no side effects.
laboratory blood
Donated blood is made up of red blood cells created in laboratories and processed from stem cells donated by humans.
The trial, called RESTORE, is in its phase I.
All volunteers will receive two blood transfusions, spaced four months apart.
The first participants have already received laboratory blood without major setbacks.
According to scientists, this blood is much more durable. On average, red blood cells live 120 days.
results needed
Because the study is just beginning, there is still a long way to go to have the results.
“If our trial, the first of its kind in the world, is successful, it will mean that patients who currently require long-term regular blood transfusions will need fewer transfusions in the future, helping to transform their care,” said the researcher. lead Cedric Ghevaert, a hematologist and professor of transfusion medicine at the University of Cambridge, in a statement.