Lab grown blood may save lives

Making blood in labs - 5th December 2022

Scientists in Britain are creating blood in labs. Laboratory blood will improve the lives of people with sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia. These are serious blood diseases.

Patients with thalassemia can't make their own haemoglobin. They need blood transfusions to get new haemoglobin into their bodies. But the blood types have to match, which is a problem for patients with rare blood types. New lab blood can help these people.

How is lab blood made? Scientists collect blood from healthy people. They take the stem cells from the blood. These cells make other cells. The scientists leave these stem cells to grow into red blood cells.

The lab blood is more useful than blood from a person. Because all the cells are new, lab blood can live for 120 days. Human blood has old and new cells in it, so it doesn't last as long. So, people who receive lab blood will need new blood less often.

Toks Odesanmi has sickle cell anaemia. She's had many painful operations. Blood transfusions are a necessary part of her life. She hopes lab blood will be available soon. But it'll take 5 to 10 years to make lab blood available to all patients.