Scientists Developing Artificial Blood to Save Lives in Emergencies

There are tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year due to hemorrhagic shock, a life-threatening loss of blood after injury.

In fact, blood loss is the leading cause of preventable death after trauma. That’s because ambulances, medical helicopters and military medics can’t routinely carry blood, which would go bad due to lack of refrigeration.

Now, prominent scientists are developing artificial blood that can be stored and reconstituted when needed. According to a recent news release, some of the breakthrough research is being conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where scientist Dr. Allan Doctor leads a new Center for Blood Oxygen Transport & Hemostasis in the UMSOM Department of Pediatrics.

The center will help advance the development of an artificial blood product for use in trauma settings like battlefields or rural areas without easy access to donated blood for transfusions. In addition, Doctor will transfer his company, KaloCyte, to the University of Maryland.

KaloCyte is studying the efficacy of ErythroMer, a dried, artificial red blood cell powder that could be used to treat life-threatening blood loss when stored red blood cells aren’t available. This shelf-stable product would be available for use on any patient needing an emergency transfusion.

According to ASH Clinical News, the publication of the American Society of Hematology, there is a constant need for blood as the supply in both the U.S. and around the world is tenuous at best. That’s because it’s dependent on donors who don’t always make the time to donate and because blood products that are donated have a very short shelf life.

ErythroMer was developed by Doctor and his colleagues in 2016 and is “two to three times as potent as stored blood,” he says. It is a dried red powder that will have a shelf life of at least a year.

“Soldiers can carry it in a backpack, and it can also be used in an ambulance,” said Doctor. “At the time it’s needed, it’s mixed with water and within one to two minutes it is reconstituted and ready for transfusion.”

Researchers are finishing trials using rabbits and hope to begin human trials in two years. Experts agree that unlocking the secret to developing an effective artificial blood product could change the world, according to ASH Clinical News.