Some British researchers have transfused for the first time blood grown in a laboratory from healthy volunteers, in a groundbreaking study that could revolutionize treatments for people with blood problems.
Ashley Toye, academic from the English University of Bristol, declares in a statement released this Monday that this clinical trial “is a big step towards making blood from stem cells,” although it specifies that more studies will be needed to verify the viability of the process.
So far, two people have received red blood cell transfusions grown in the laboratory (the equivalent of one or two teaspoons of blood), in the so-called ‘Restore’ study, which involves several British universities and health organisations. Both were closely monitored and no adverse side effects were detected, stated in the statement.
Experiment
What part of the clinical trial a minimum of 10 participants will receive two minitransfusions at least four months apart, one from donated normal red blood cells and one from those grown in the lab.
The experiment tries to determine the lifespan of cells grown in the laboratory, young, compared to those standard transfusions from donors, containing cells of different ages.
The researchers point out that if it is found that the blood cells grown in the lab last longer in the body, “It is possible that patients who need blood regularly did not require transfusions as often.”
The blood cells were made from stem cells of donors recruited from the database of the National Health Service (NHS, in English) of the United Kingdom.
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The authors maintain that the culture of red blood cells could “revolutionize treatments for people with blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia or unusual blood types.
The essay “is a first step for laboratory red blood cells to be produced in the future as a clinical product”, although their use would be at least initially for “a very small number of patients with complex transfusion needs,” they point out.