New Artificial Blood Could Be Transfused Into Anyone
According to Victor Tangermann, a Japanese newspaper called “The Asahi Shimbun” reported that the Japan National Defense Medical College might have created artificial blood that has the potential to be used in any patient. In other words, their blood type would not be a factor when it comes to supplying them with volume replacement via artificial blood.
Obtaining blood for transfusions can sometimes be a challenge, and during emergent situations, it can be even more of a problem. “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 117.4 billion units of donated blood are collected globally each year, and that’s still not enough” (Hale, 2019) to meet the horrendous demand. Currently, if someone needs a blood transfusion, they must have a type & screen to determine their blood type. However, artificial blood that could be transfused regardless of blood type would play a significant role in volume replacement.
Researchers report that they have trialed the artificial blood on ten rabbits who were hemorrhaging, and remarkably six of the rabbits lived, and only four died (Hale, 2019). Moreover, none of the rabbits had an adverse reaction to the blood (2019). The early results demonstrate that artificial blood has the potential to save lives.
The research is still in its early stages, and human trials are currently pending. Success would be a welcomed breakthrough, until then “…the research could provide another vital stepping stone to finding that much sought after universal artificial blood substitute” (Hale, 2019), a substitute that would decrease the need for human donors.
Hale, T. (2019). Japanese Scientists Create Artificial Blood That Could Potentially Be Given To All Blood Types. Retrieved October 30, 2019, from https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/japanese-scientists-create-artificial-blood-that-could-potentially-be-given-to-all-blood-types/
Tangermann, V. (2019). New Artificial Blood could be Transfused into Anyone. Futurism. Retrieved October 15, 2019, from https://futurism.com/neoscope/artificial-blood-transfused-patient
