First ever human clinical trial of lab-grown blood

RESTORE is a large joint research initiative that has manufactured red blood cells from donor stem cells.

This BBC article - Lab-grown blood given to people in world-first clinical trial - reveals that very small amounts of this lab grown blood have now been transfused into human volunteers.

Why do we need lab grown blood?

The demand for blood and blood products for transfusion is huge.
In October 2022, the NHS Blood and Transplant Service issued a warning that the nations stock of blood for transfusion was at critical levels. Read more in this article in The Guardian - First ever amber alert for NHS blood supplies could mean cancelled surgery Manufactured blood could reduce or even entirely remove the need to rely on human blood donors for the supply of blood for transfusion (although stem cell donors would still be required - at least for now!)

It can be a challenge to find the right blood type, for people with rare blood types and/or blood disorders, such as sickle cell. People with disorders such as sickle cell develop antibodies to blood groups overtime, meaning the number of blood type transfusions they can receive reduces. The potential for lab grown blood, is that very rare blood types could be grown, therefore offering a perfect match to patients.

Lab grown red blood cells (RBCs) are 'young' which means they have a longer life, compared to blood transfusions from donated blood, which contains RBCs of all different ages and therefore lifespans. This could mean that people that require regular blood transfusions, would require them less often if they received young lab grown RBCs.

Read more about RESTORE:

First ever clinical trial of laboratory grown red blood cells being transfused into another person underway

Lab grown blood given to people in world-first clinical trial