Brisbane lab scales lab-grown blood for rare transfusions
A Brisbane lab partnership will increase lab-grown blood production to help people with very rare blood types.
Bhabisara Gharti Magar discovered she had Para-Bombay blood. It is one of the world's rarest blood types.
She only found out when planning pregnancy. Finding compatible blood in an emergency is nearly impossible.
The University of Queensland, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and SMART CRC are now partnering. They are scaling lab-grown red blood cells.
Scientists can already grow blood in labs that works well. But the process is very expensive.
It currently costs more than $70,000 and takes about three weeks to produce just a few teaspoons. The researchers want to reduce the cost and time by improving the technology.
The breakthrough could help rare-blood patients and newborns needing neo-natal transfusions. It could also help people who need blood often.
- More than $70,000
- Cost per blood bag production
- About three weeks
- Production time
- One trillion
- Red blood cells needed per bag
- Nearly 25
- Griffiths' years on lab blood
Why it mattersA solution for rare-blood patients could change emergency care. It would help a small but vulnerable group.
Corroborated bytheage.com.au·watoday.com.au
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