[HN Gopher] Japanese Scientists Develop Artificial Blood Compati...
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       Japanese Scientists Develop Artificial Blood Compatible with All
       Blood Types
        
       Author : Geekette
       Score  : 25 points
       Date   : 2025-06-02 21:44 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.tokyoweekender.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.tokyoweekender.com)
        
       | Geekette wrote:
       | Study trial in question:
       | https://ashpublications.org/bloodadvances/article/6/21/5711/...
        
       | yeknoda wrote:
       | -2.5% to US GDP
        
         | Terr_ wrote:
         | Explaining the joke: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/why-blood-
         | makes-up-over-2poi...
         | 
         | That said, I thought I saw something recently about how the
         | 2.5% is overblown because it comes from broader export-
         | categories of things blood-related but not necessarily direct
         | blood products. I'll see if I can find it...
        
       | BobbyTables2 wrote:
       | Blood donation organizations hate this one trick!
        
       | 0cf8612b2e1e wrote:
       | The artificial blood is created by extracting hemoglobin -- a
       | protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of
       | oxygen in red blood cells -- from expired donor blood. It is then
       | encased in a protective shell to create stable, virus-free
       | artificial red blood cells. As these artificial cells have no
       | blood type, there is no need for compatibility testing.
       | 
       | Blood-derived synthetic. Still cool, but continues to require a
       | pool of donors.
        
         | taberiand wrote:
         | My understanding is a huge issue with blood donation is expiry,
         | and therefore the need for consistent year-round donation -
         | when a disaster occurs there's often a spike in donations but
         | the surplus gets thrown away. A mechanism that can make use of
         | expired blood that works for all blood types and extends the
         | shelf life seems extremely valuable.
        
       | rockfishroll wrote:
       | Biopure was a company doing something similar in the US. They
       | imploded in the early 2000s, but they had created an "oxygen
       | therapeutic" (blood substitute) by isolating hemoglobin based
       | oxygen carrying molecules FROM COW BLOOD!
       | 
       | The fact that they weren't using whole red blood cells meant the
       | product was typeless, room temp stable, and better at perfusing
       | around arterial blockages and into tissue since the molecules
       | were so small.
       | 
       | Unfortunately, the company was kind of a mess. They managed to
       | get licensed for sale in South Africa, and in the US for the
       | veterinary product, but never managed FDA approval. It's a shame.
       | Everyone could see the promise of the product, and it really
       | actually worked, but they just couldn't seem to make the business
       | viable.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopure
       | 
       | Edit: When I say they imploded, I really mean it. They got
       | prosecuted for misleading statements to investors about the state
       | of US clinical trials, and the legal proceedings became farcical.
       | 
       | "On March 11, 2009 [Senior VP] Howard Richman pleaded guilty in
       | U.S. District Court and admitted he had instructed his lawyers to
       | tell a judge he was gravely ill with colon cancer. He also
       | admitted to posing as his doctor in a phone call with his lawyer
       | so that she would tell the judge that his cancer had spread and
       | that he was undergoing chemotherapy."
       | 
       | That guys was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Here's hoping this
       | new blood substitute has a happier outcome!
        
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       (page generated 2025-06-02 23:00 UTC)