<p>In a ground-breaking trial, researchers in the UK will test artificial blood made from human stem cells in patients for the first time.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The research, planned for 2016, could pave the way for manufacturing of blood on an industrial scale, which could even supersede donated blood as the main supply for patients.<br /><br />"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 5 million pounds project at the University of Edinburgh.<br /><br />The trial will involve three patients with thalassaemia, a disorder of the red blood cells that requires regular transfusions. They will receive around 5 ml of blood initially to test whether the cells behave normally in the body.<br /><br />Turner stressed that the trial should not be taken as a signal for people to stop donating blood, but speculated that in 20 years, artificial blood could be the norm.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The iPS cells are cultured in biochemical conditions similar to those in the human body that trigger their transition towards mature red blood cells.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The useable cells can then be separated from immature blood cells and remaining iPS cells using standard blood separation methods, such as centrifuging.<br /><br />Artificial blood would be made from cells taken from someone with the relatively rare universal blood type O-, which can be transfused into almost any patient, researchers said. <br /></p>
<p>In a ground-breaking trial, researchers in the UK will test artificial blood made from human stem cells in patients for the first time.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The research, planned for 2016, could pave the way for manufacturing of blood on an industrial scale, which could even supersede donated blood as the main supply for patients.<br /><br />"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 5 million pounds project at the University of Edinburgh.<br /><br />The trial will involve three patients with thalassaemia, a disorder of the red blood cells that requires regular transfusions. They will receive around 5 ml of blood initially to test whether the cells behave normally in the body.<br /><br />Turner stressed that the trial should not be taken as a signal for people to stop donating blood, but speculated that in 20 years, artificial blood could be the norm.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The iPS cells are cultured in biochemical conditions similar to those in the human body that trigger their transition towards mature red blood cells.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The useable cells can then be separated from immature blood cells and remaining iPS cells using standard blood separation methods, such as centrifuging.<br /><br />Artificial blood would be made from cells taken from someone with the relatively rare universal blood type O-, which can be transfused into almost any patient, researchers said. <br /></p>