Are you someone who is looking for blood transfusion techniques for yourself or for the person whom you know? Or are you tired of searching for blood donors and researching lab grown blood? Well, you actually have come to the right place. In this article, let us see whether is lab grown blood safe.
In contrast to donated cells, lab-grown cells may have a longer shelf life. According to CNBC, because these cells are newly created, the researchers believe they may live the full 120-day lifespan of red blood cells in the recipient’s body.
Recently, research has been performed in the UK by a team of scientists where lab grown cells have been transfused into humans to determine whether is lab grown blood safe for future medical purposes.
Continue reading further to understand whether is lab grown blood safe, how it is made, and what is the process behind it.
Is Lab Grown Blood Safe?
For the first time in world history, a small amount of Lab grown blood has been given to humans as a clinical trial and so far the lab grown blood is considered safe as the two patients who have the transfusion seem to be fine healthwise and are under continuous monitoring.
The idea of growing blood in a lab came into an experimental phase considering various medical factors. Blood diseases such as Hemophilia, Sickle Cell Disease, Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding e.t.c. have become quite common these days and there are a lot of patients who suffer from them. In most cases, patients suffering from such diseases would need a blood donor for constant blood transfusions at regular intervals of time.
Here, the real challenge is getting the perfect blood donor for blood transfusions. Patients with rare blood groups will have even more difficulties in choosing a suitable donor. With this, the process of lab grown blood was built and it is in the experimental phase.
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A team of highly talented researchers led by the National Health Service (NHS) Blood and Transplant unit performed this experiment at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England. The main purpose of conducting this trial is to determine whether is lab grown blood safe, whether are there any side effects or allergies involved in it, and to determine how long can the transfused lab grown blood stay in the patient’s body.
Lab Grown Red Blood Cells
The bone marrow, which is located in the center of most bones, is where red blood cells are created. Red blood cells’ primary function is to transport oxygen throughout the body. Hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells, carries oxygen. So, when there is lack of RBC count in our body it leads to various health issues including the need for regular blood transfusions.
In the trial, researchers are comparing the lifetime of lab-grown cells to infusions of regular red blood cells from the same donor and they are also in the process of analyzing whether is lab grown safe so that it can be used for patients who today require ongoing, routine blood transfusions will eventually require fewer blood transfusions.
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Who Are The Donors Of The Lab Grown Blood?
Donors were chosen from a community of blood donors. They provided blood for the experiment, and stem cells were extracted from it. Red blood cells were subsequently created in a lab using these stem cells. Blood recipients were chosen from a pool of healthy individuals. To determine whether young red blood cells created in the lab live longer than cells created in the body, a minimum of 10 volunteers will have two micro transfusions at least four months apart, one of the regular donated red blood cells and the other of lab-grown red blood cells.
What Is The Process Of Lab Grown Blood?
Extraction of a pint of blood > extraction of Flexible stem cells > submersion of stems > cleaning of cells > proliferation and differentiation > filtration.
- The process begins with the extraction of a pint of blood (around 470ml) from a healthy donor
- Flexible stem cells that can develop into red blood cells are extracted using magnetic beads.
- Then, in a lab, the stems were submerged in a nutritional solution.
- The cells were then cleaned with a standard filter.
- Then these stem cells are proliferated in great numbers and then instructed to differentiate into red blood cells.
- 50 billion red blood cells are produced from an initial pool of roughly 500,000 stem cells over the course of the procedure, which lasts about three weeks.
- To obtain approximately 15 billion red blood cells that are ready for transplant, these are reduced through filtering.
The receivers of the lab grown blood are healthy as of now and they do not have any allergic reactions, side effects, or other medical complications such as fever. In this phase of the research, there will be two mini-transfusions, one with a standard donation of red cells and the other with lab-created cells from the same donor, spaced at least four months apart from one another.
The average lifespan of red blood cells is 120 days before they require replacement. Red blood cells from a regular blood donation are a mixture of young and old, whereas those from lab-grown blood are 100% brand-new and should survive the whole 120 days. The researchers believe that in the future, this would enable smaller and less frequent donations.
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Wrapping Up
So far, the individuals who have undergone the lab grown blood transfusion process are doing fine and the lab grown blood is considered to be safe. We hope this article has given you a clear explanation of whether is lab grown blood safe or not. For more such informative and interesting articles, follow us at Deasilex.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How Long Does It Take To Grow Blood?
Ans. Within 24 hours, the blood volume is usually replenished. The FDA mandates an eight-week gap between blood donations since it takes four to six weeks for red blood cells to completely replenish themselves.
Q2. How Many Years Blood Can Be Stored?
Ans. Red blood cells can be kept in refrigerators for up to 42 days at 6oC. For up to five days, platelets are kept at room temperature in agitators. For up to a year, freezers are used to store frozen plasma and cryo.
Q3. Can I Preserve My Own Blood?
Ans. The greatest technique to prevent obtaining contaminated blood or having negative reactions to incompatible donated blood during medical treatment is autologous blood banking, or saving your own blood for future use.
Q4. What Is The Fastest Way To Gain Blood?
Ans. The fastest way to gain blood is to eat iron-rich food such as seafood, nuts, beans, lentils, lean meat e.t.c.
