The quest to create artificial blood has been in progress for many decades. In hospitals around the world, emergency departments are filled with patients who require immediate medical treatment to save their lives. Patients who have experienced severe injury from an automobile accident, a woman experiencing significant bleeding due to childbirth, and soldiers injured while fighting in war zones all rely on one vital element to receive necessary life-sustaining care: human blood. However, with a shortage of blood available to meet the needs of patients, researchers have sought out one of medicine’s most difficult challenges: generating artificial blood to replicate oxygen transportation via red blood cells.
Artificial blood does not resemble the distinct concept of organic blood; however, unlike the vast array of functions performed by the blood in your body, such as providing nutrients and immune cells, and transporting hormones. Artificial blood is created to perform only one critical function: to transport oxygen to the body’s tissues. While it would be ideal to replicate every single function of organic blood, if researchers can simply replicate the ability of the blood to deliver oxygen to the body’s tissues, then thousands of lives can be saved.
In addition to providing oxygen to the body’s cells, synthetic oxygen carriers must also perform their function safely and be able to work with the body’s immune system in predictable ways. Further, they should be capable of being broken down without causing damage to the body. For these reasons, it is necessary for synthetic oxygen carriers to undergo a significant amount of testing as well as collaboration between researchers from different fields, such as phlebotomy and hematology.
Researchers began developing the first generation of artificial blood substitutes in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the initial substitutes were made from molecules derived from the red blood cell known as hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is able to bind and release oxygen. Unfortunately, the early versions of these substitutes produced problems, including hypertension (high blood pressure) and inflammation. It was determined that unconfined hemoglobin, when outside of the vicinity of a red blood cell, damaged blood vessels. As a result of these experiences, researchers gained insight regarding their oversights and refined their design to more closely mirror the workings of natural systems, which significantly reduced toxicity.
An alternative method for developing artificial blood substitutes involves using perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Perfluorocarbons are synthetic compounds that can absorb and carry oxygen. Due to the fact that PFC-based substitutes can be sterilized, stored for long periods of time, and even freeze-dried, they are especially attractive for use in resource-deprived environments. Several PFC-based substitute products have already been studied in clinical trials and have been used in a variety of surgical applications. Although the idea is still new and has yet to be proven, there is no doubt that it remains possible.
With synthetic biology, researchers have been able to advance the study far beyond where it was formerly. Synthetic biology uses a combination of both biological and engineering methods to create artificially made structures and devices that replicate or simulate biological functions. As an example, researchers are now developing man-made red blood cells to resemble the malleable qualities of the naturally occurring red blood cells, as well as for their ability to transport oxygen. Recently published research in Nature Communications presented “ErythroMer”, microscopic, biodegradable particles that can be hydrated with sterile water to create oxygen-carrying suspensions. Consider the potential of trauma kits containing lightweight powdered forms of ErythroMer no longer requiring refrigeration to maintain viability, and ready for immediate use anywhere in the world.
If artificial blood becomes a reality, the impact on a global scale could be immense. According to the World Health Organization, millions of people die annually from a lack of access to sufficient blood supplies, particularly in areas where there are unreliable systems of blood donation. With artificial blood, we can eliminate the dependency on finding a compatible blood type, the risks associated with infection, and develop a universal solution for emergency medicine.
Although there are many challenges facing those who wish to develop synthetic blood substitutes, scientists continue to pursue research on this topic, driven by the hope to save lives. Synthetic blood is not just an engineering problem; it is a representation of humanity’s ability to persevere and be curious. It is a representation of all the scientists working together from labs all around the world to make sure the next time someone’s life is in jeopardy, because of a lack of blood available for donation or no matching blood type, assistance will be available.
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