Blood Substitute Shows Promise in Emergency Care

A synthetic blood product has demonstrated great potential in clinical trials, with no signs of the rejection or other harmful side effects seen with earlier blood substitutes, such as hypertension.

The trials also demonstrated that the synthetic blood carried even more oxygen throughout the body than genuine blood, which can help limit the tissue damage associated with oxygen deprivation. The new hemoglobin, intended for transfusion, is taken from "old” red blood cells in donated supplies. The method was developed by Dr. Seetharama Acharya, professor of medicine and biophysics and physiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York, NY, USA).

"With our blood product, the issue of blood typing is removed,” said Dr. Acharya. "Patients with any blood type can receive the artificial blood, which then transports oxygen through the body to help limit damage at a time when loss of blood can lead to death.”

Eliminating the need for blood typing can save critical seconds, for example, in emergency situations or on the battlefield. Early trials are now underway at Karolinska Hospital (Stockholm, Sweden). To date, eight patients have been tested, with none showing signs either of rejection or other side effects. The scientists working on the project are also fine-tuning a powdered form of the substitute that can be reconstituted for use by simply adding water.




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