Recently, the NHS called on surgeons to delay carrying out major surgery because blood banks were too low to service any more operations. So this new research from Bristol University where lab-grown red blood cells have been transfused into another person comes at just the right time.
In the world-first clinical trial, called RESTORE, the manufactured blood cells were grown from donor stem cells then transfused into volunteers.
This is the first time lab-grown red blood cells have been given to another person as part of a blood transfusion.
Manufactured red blood cells could revolutionise treatments for people with blood disorders such as sickle cell and rare blood types, for whom there’s always a shortage of matched blood.
The trial is studying the lifespan of the lab-grown cells compared with those of standard red blood cells from the same donor.
The lab-grown blood cells are all fresh, so the researchers expect them to perform better than a similar transfusion of standard donated red cells, which contains cells of varying ages.
Red blood cells live for about 120 days before being destroyed by the body. If a manufactured blood transfusion does last longer in the body, patients who regularly need blood may not need transfusions as often.
For the foreseeable future, however, manufactured cells can only be used for a very small number of patients with very complex transfusion needs.
So far two people have been transfused with the lab-grown red cells with no untoward side effects.
For these baby steps only one to two teaspoons of red blood cells were given. A minimum of 10 people will now receive two mini transfusions at least four months apart, one of standard donated red blood cells and one of lab-grown blood, to see which lasts longer.
Co-chief investigator Professor Ashley Toye, of Bristol University, said: “This challenging and exciting trial is a huge stepping stone for manufacturing blood from stem cells.
“This is the first time lab-grown blood from an allogeneic [unrelated] donor has been transfused and we are excited to see how well the cells perform at the end of the clinical trial.”
Co-chief investigator Cedric Ghevaert of Cambridge University added: “We hope our lab-grown red blood cells will last longer than those that come from blood donors.
“If our trial is successful, it will mean that patients who currently require regular long-term blood transfusions will need fewer transfusions in future, helping transform their care.”
