Kenneth P Grismore
Xacobo Bio-Engineering, USA
Title: Synthetic Blood – Artificially grown red blood cells
Biography
Biography: Kenneth P Grismore
Abstract
Blood donations are one day a thing of the past; thanks to the creation of the first functional red blood cells grown in the lab. Embryonic stem cells (ESCS) are the origin of these cells. The breakthrough raises the prospect of producing mass supplies of the “Universal Donor” blood type O-negative, which is highly desirable because it can be safely transferred into patient, irrespective of their blood group. This type of blood is in short supply-of around Caucasians with 8% and just 0.3% of Asians. Instead of getting blood from countless donors making it from a few ESC lines may also help to stop the spread of disease, as it is easier to ensure such artificial blood is free of pathogens such as HIV and the viruses that cause hepatitis. To create the red blood cells, the cells were exposed to cultures of human ESCS to a sequence of nutrients and growth factors. This turned them to be named as Haemangioblasts, at the beginning which are precursors to blood cells, and then into mature red blood cells.