英科學家制成人造血 稱兩年內可面世

Artificial blood created from stem cells could be tested on Britons within two years。

The scientists behind the research, which could provide industrial scale quantities of blood, believe it will transform transfusions by preventing hospital shortages, and save thousands of lives on battlefields and at the scene of car crashes。

Heart transplant, bypass and cancer patients would also benefit from having a guaranteed supply of blood on hand for their surgery。

The man-made blood would be free of infections that have blighted natural supplies and could be given to almost everyone regardless of blood group。

The hope comes from Edinburgh and Bristol university researchers who have, for the first time, made thousands of millions of red blood cells from stem cells – “master cells” seen as a repair kit for the body – taken from bone marrow。

Edinburgh University’s Professor Marc Turner predicts that in two to three years, he will be ready to inject a teaspoon of man-made blood into healthy volunteers, in the first British trial of blood from stem cells。

Within 20 years, it may be possible to produce two million pints of artificial blood a year – enough to satisfy the nation’s medical needs. Any embryonic stem cells used would be taken from four or five-day-old embryos left over from IVF treatment and donated to the research project。據英國《每日郵報》10月27日報道，英國科學家利用幹細胞製成人造血，兩年之內可在英國試用。

該研究能提供產業規模的供血量。科學家們相信通過防止醫院的血源短缺，它能改變臨牀輸血模式，並能拯救在戰場上和車禍中受傷的數千傷患。

這種方便有保證的血液供應也會讓需要做心臟移植、心臟塔橋手術的患者以及癌症患者受益匪淺。

人造血不會受到外界感染，幾乎可以不分血型輸給所有人。

製出人造血的希望來自於愛丁堡和布裏斯托爾大學的研究人員們。他們首次從被稱爲“萬能細胞”的幹細胞當中製成了成千上萬的紅血球。這種幹細胞提取自骨髓，被看作是人體的修復包。

愛丁堡大學的教授馬爾科-特納預言在兩到三年內，他準備在英國首例人造血的人體試驗中，將一湯匙量的人造血液注射入健康的志願者體內。

在未來20年內，英國人造血的年產量將可能達到200萬品脫(約113萬升)，足以滿足全國的醫療需求。用於造血的胚胎幹細胞將從試管受精遺留下的以及捐獻給該研究項目的人類晶胚中提取。