New hope for sickle cell patients as UK trial of lab grown red blood cells begins

World first clinical test could be good news for people with rare blood groups and those who need frequent transfusions

Laboratory grown red blood cells have been transfused into volunteers in a world first clinical trial that could help revolutionise treatments for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

The manufactured blood cells were grown from stem cells from donors, which in future could allow donor blood to be expanded into much larger volumes for transfusion. The trial is studying the lifespan of the lab grown cells compared with infusions of standard red blood cells from the same donor.