Another step closer to artificial blood
Artificial blood stored as a powder could one day revolutionize emergency medicine and provide trauma victims a better chance of survival.
Researchers have created an artificial red blood cell that effectively picks up oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to tissues throughout the body.
This artificial blood can be freeze-dried, making it easier for combat medics and paramedics to keep on hand for emergencies, said senior researcher Dr. Allan Doctor. He is a critical care specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Its a dried powder that looks like paprika, basically, Doctor said. It can be stored in an IV plastic bag that a medic would carry, either in their ambulance or in a backpack, for a year or more. When they need to use it, they spike the bag with sterile water, mix it, and its ready to inject right then and there.
The artificial blood cell, which is about one-fiftieth the size of a normal red blood cell, is made from purified human hemoglobin proteins that have been coated with a synthetic polymer, Doctor said. Hemoglobin is the component inside red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body.
Its estimated that as many as 70 percent of battlefield fatalities are due to shock caused by blood loss rather than life-threatening injuries to vital organs, Doctor said. Additionally, about 20,000 trauma deaths in the United States occur each year due to blood loss prior to arriving at a treatment center.
The hunt for an artificial blood substitute has been underway for more than 80 years, but the closest prior attempts have failed in two major ways, Doctor said.
Earlier versions could capture oxygen in the lungs, but then would not effectively release the oxygen after traveling out to tissues and organs, he said.
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