Artificial blood in the pipeline

16 April 2014 - 02:02 By ©The Daily Telegraph
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The production of blood on an industrial scale could become a reality once there has been a trial in which artificial blood made from human stem cells is tested in patients.

Marc Turner, principal researcher in the programme, told The Telegraph his team had made red blood cells fit for clinical transfusion via a technique to culture these cells from induced pluripotent stem cells - cells taken from humans and "rewound" into stem cells.

This opens up the prospect of a limitless supply of manufactured type O blood, free of disease and compatible with all patients.

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