Safe and affordable red blood cells without donors

The production of cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) holds the promise of being a potentially unlimited source of cells that could meet the increasing demand for red blood cell transfusions. TU Delft and Sanquin have now developed an improved process for the production of these cRBC's. It also allows for greater control over the quality and safety of the cells compared to the current donor-dependent system. Additionally, cRBCs could be utilised for novel therapies in which cells serve as carriers of therapeutic molecules. "Until now, cultured red blood cells could only be produced in very small quantities", says Joan Gallego, who will defend his PhD thesis on this topic on Friday, 10 November in Delft. "These cells originate from precursor cells, called erythroblasts. In the human body, production occurs through a process (erythropoiesis) in our bone marrow.