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Minute-Able t1_iumjodh wrote

Why RBC? Is it an easier cell to make or is the demand that high that justifies it?

Does these RBC have blood type? Can they be tailored to fit all blood type?

How important is this bioreactor in the process, as if without it it is impossible to make RBC? Solve one issue of many in the creation process? Lower the cost for "mass manufacturing"?

After this is done, what would be the cost of making one "serving of blood" (sorry I dont know what would be a better word) needed in a hospital setting?

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UniversityofBath OP t1_iumsc5m wrote

Thank you for your question! Bioreactor technologies are being developed for a variety of cell types and this is an area of active research. There are many challenges with growing any cell type outside the body including red blood cells (RBCs). We aim to manufacture RBCs to address the growing shortage of donated blood globally. Within the different cell types in blood, we are focussed on RBCs since they are the oxygen-carying component of blood and hence, if we can replenish them for a patient who has suffered major blood loss, we can save the patient's life and their body is then able to replenish the other cell types in the blood tissue.

We can manufacture RBCs using existing bioreactor technologies, but these technologies are not yet fully optimized for cost-effective manufacture. Our research focuses on optimizing these technologies (that were developed for other cell types) specifically for cost-effect mass RBC manufacture. Current cost of donated blood is ~£125/unit (it is >£500/unit for rarer blood types) while that for bioreactor-produced RBCs is >£5,000/unit. Our research aims to design better bioreactors to bring down costs closer to that of donated blood.

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