The following is an excerpt.
Researchers have been given a licence to use stem cells to manufacture blood that could eventually be tested on people.
Synthetic blood would help end supply shortages and prevent infections being passed on through donations.
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Edinburgh University and Roslin Cells are conducting the work.
The licence, granted by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), means a manufacturing facility can be set up to work on human cell therapy products.
It will be based at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) and aims to produce blood which would be fit for clinical trials.
Read the full story here: Go-ahead to develop synthetic human blood in Scotland
Additional Resources:
For additional coverage of the Scottish first:
- “Scotland hosts first synthetic blood trial,” Herald Scotland
- “World’s first human trials of synthetic blood ‘agreed’,” The Independent
Scotland is not the first to try to produce artificial blood, however. Earlier this year, India’s IIT Madras geared up for mass production of red blood cells from stem cells.
- “IIT-Madras ready for mass production of artificial blood,” Times of India
