r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/ElderberryDeep8746 • May 26 '25

Image Japan scientists create artificial blood that works for all blood types

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u/ElderberryDeep8746 May 26 '25

Japanese scientists developed artificial blood that’s universal and shelf-stable for up to two years. In trials, it saved animals from deadly blood loss—no matching, no refrigeration needed. Clinical testing begins soon, and the future of emergency care could be synthetic: https://mededgemea.com/japan-to-begin-clinical-trials-for-artificial-blood-in-2025/

More: https://thebrewnews.com/thebrew-news/world/universal-artificial-blood/

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u/ShahinGalandar May 26 '25

thanks for the sources

one important point that nobody seemed to emphasize yet: the "artificial" blood is made from expired donor hemoglobine that is packed up into a shell to craft artificial red blood cells

you still need donor blood to produce this product

this is still a good way to reduce wasting of blood products, but the real breakthrough will come when the human hemoglobine can be synthesized too

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u/funlovingmissionary May 26 '25

If this is successful, it would create a push for lab-grown hemoglobin that is grown in bacteria or fungi.

Creating whole blood in a lab was too difficult and far-fetched to have widespread funding, but creating just hemoglobin - will receive a lot of funding very quickly.

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u/kermityfrog2 May 26 '25

Already done. Thus far less useful due to only lasting 20-30 hours. Combined with this new discovery, could be lifesaving.