Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Blood from a lamb, into a human – this sounds like a horror movie, but it’s actually the first recorded blood transfusion… four hundred years ago. In this video we look at how far we’ve come, and the century-long quest for the Holy Grail of transfusion medicine: synthetic blood.
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Why we need synthetic blood
02:09 What is synthetic blood
02:44 Why we can't use water as a blood substitute
06:38 Liquid breathing experiments and the 1989 movie The Abyss
08:37 Perfluorocarbon approach to liquid breathing
10:40 Creating synthetic red blood cells
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Credits:
Executive Producers:
Matthew Radcliff
Producers:
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Writer/Host:
George Zaidan
Scientific Consultants:
Jonathan S. Jahr, MD, PhD, FASA
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Brianne Raccor, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Associate Director of Programming for PBS: Niki Walker
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
#syntheticblood #blooddonation #blooddonation
SOURCES:
Facts About Blood Supply In The U.S. | Red Cross Blood Services
redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/how-blood-donations-help/blood-needs-blood-supply.html#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20an%20estimated%206.8,the%20U.S.%20in%20a%20year.
Can Humans Breathe Liquid Like in The Abyss?
todayifoundout.com/index.php/2021/08/can-humans-breathe-liquid-like-in-the-abyss
Blood Substitutes and Oxygen Therapeutics: A Review : Anesthesia & Analgesia
journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2021/01000/Blood_Substitutes_and_Oxygen_Therapeutics__A.20.aspx
A Review of Blood Substitutes: Examining The History, Clinical Trial Results, and Ethics of Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2728196
Making artificial blood for transfusions - American Chemical Society
acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2017/acs-presspac-april-19-2017/making-artificial-blood-for-transfusions.html
Blood substitutes - Winslow - 1989 - Transfusion - Wiley Online Library
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1537-2995.1989.29990070175.x
Artificial Blood: The Future of Patient Care? — Stanford Blood Center
stanfordbloodcenter.org/pulse-artificial-blood-the-future-of-patient-care
Oxyglobin | HbO2 Therapeutics
hbo2therapeutics.com/copy-of-manufacturing
Hemopure | HbO2 Therapeutics
hbo2therapeutics.com/our-product
Oxyglobin | European Medicines Agency
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/veterinary/EPAR/oxyglobin
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute - Artificial Blood
phlbi.org/divisions/blood-disorders/artificial-blood
Oxygen therapeutics: can we tame haemoglobin? | Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
nature.com/articles/nrd1307
Hemoglobin-based blood substitutes: oxygen carriers, pressor agents, or oxidants? | Nature Biotechnology
nature.com/articles/nbt0699_545
Nitric oxide scavenging by red blood cells as a function of hematocrit and oxygenation - PubMed
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16186121
Surgical blood conservation: Acute normovolemic hemodilution - UpToDate
uptodate.com/contents/surgical-blood-conservation-acute-normovolemic-hemodilution#:~:text=Acute%20normovolemic%20hemodilution%20(ANH)%20is,and%2For%20colloid%20replacement%20fluid.
History of Blood Transfusion
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7945273/pdf/annmedhist148147-0003.pdf
Blood Lust: The Early History of Transfusion - Scientific American Blog Network
blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/blood-lust-the-early-history-of-transfusion
Hemolysis and free hemoglobin revisited: exploring hemoglobin and hemin scavengers as a novel class of therapeutic proteins - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3578950
The role of circulating cell-free hemoglobin in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury - PMC
Acute normovolemic hemodilution - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592192
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute - Artificial Blood
phlbi.org/divisions/blood-disorders/artificial-blood
Biomimetic Rebuilding of Multifunctional Red Blood Cells: Modular Design Using Functional Components | ACS Nano
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsnano.9b08714
First Blood Transfusion: A History - JSTOR Daily
daily.jstor.org/first-blood-transfusion
Clinical Results of Perftoran Application: Present and Future
tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1081/BIO-200046654?needAccess=true
Blood from a lamb, into a human – this sounds like a horror movie, but it’s actually the first recorded blood transfusion… four hundred years ago. In this video we look at how far we’ve come, and the century-long quest for the Holy Grail of transfusion medicine: synthetic blood.
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Why we need synthetic blood
02:09 What is synthetic blood
02:44 Why we can't use water as a blood substitute
06:38 Liquid breathing experiments and the 1989 movie The Abyss
08:37 Perfluorocarbon approach to liquid breathing
10:40 Creating synthetic red blood cells
You might also like:
How Does Chemotherapy Treat Breast Cancer?
youtu.be/QcgnVuRx20s
The Science of Maple Syrup Production:
youtu.be/nSRCDiKMEJc
Does Sugar Cause Diabetes?
youtu.be/DCwNR3r217I
Does Melatonin Do Anything?
youtu.be/qjUKsW93qRU
Your Liver and Kidneys Are Good Enough, Put Down the Detox Tea:
youtu.be/zv0chkuT7cQ
Credits:
Executive Producers:
Matthew Radcliff
Producers:
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Writer/Host:
George Zaidan
Scientific Consultants:
Jonathan S. Jahr, MD, PhD, FASA
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Brianne Raccor, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Associate Director of Programming for PBS: Niki Walker
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
#syntheticblood #blooddonation #blooddonation
SOURCES:
Facts About Blood Supply In The U.S. | Red Cross Blood Services
redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/how-blood-donations-help/blood-needs-blood-supply.html#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20an%20estimated%206.8,the%20U.S.%20in%20a%20year.
Can Humans Breathe Liquid Like in The Abyss?
todayifoundout.com/index.php/2021/08/can-humans-breathe-liquid-like-in-the-abyss
Blood Substitutes and Oxygen Therapeutics: A Review : Anesthesia & Analgesia
journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2021/01000/Blood_Substitutes_and_Oxygen_Therapeutics__A.20.aspx
A Review of Blood Substitutes: Examining The History, Clinical Trial Results, and Ethics of Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2728196
Making artificial blood for transfusions - American Chemical Society
acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2017/acs-presspac-april-19-2017/making-artificial-blood-for-transfusions.html
Blood substitutes - Winslow - 1989 - Transfusion - Wiley Online Library
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1537-2995.1989.29990070175.x
Artificial Blood: The Future of Patient Care? — Stanford Blood Center
stanfordbloodcenter.org/pulse-artificial-blood-the-future-of-patient-care
Oxyglobin | HbO2 Therapeutics
hbo2therapeutics.com/copy-of-manufacturing
Hemopure | HbO2 Therapeutics
hbo2therapeutics.com/our-product
Oxyglobin | European Medicines Agency
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/veterinary/EPAR/oxyglobin
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute - Artificial Blood
phlbi.org/divisions/blood-disorders/artificial-blood
Oxygen therapeutics: can we tame haemoglobin? | Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
nature.com/articles/nrd1307
Hemoglobin-based blood substitutes: oxygen carriers, pressor agents, or oxidants? | Nature Biotechnology
nature.com/articles/nbt0699_545
Nitric oxide scavenging by red blood cells as a function of hematocrit and oxygenation - PubMed
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16186121
Surgical blood conservation: Acute normovolemic hemodilution - UpToDate
uptodate.com/contents/surgical-blood-conservation-acute-normovolemic-hemodilution#:~:text=Acute%20normovolemic%20hemodilution%20(ANH)%20is,and%2For%20colloid%20replacement%20fluid.
History of Blood Transfusion
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7945273/pdf/annmedhist148147-0003.pdf
Blood Lust: The Early History of Transfusion - Scientific American Blog Network
blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/blood-lust-the-early-history-of-transfusion
Hemolysis and free hemoglobin revisited: exploring hemoglobin and hemin scavengers as a novel class of therapeutic proteins - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3578950
The role of circulating cell-free hemoglobin in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury - PMC
Acute normovolemic hemodilution - PMC
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592192
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute - Artificial Blood
phlbi.org/divisions/blood-disorders/artificial-blood
Biomimetic Rebuilding of Multifunctional Red Blood Cells: Modular Design Using Functional Components | ACS Nano
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsnano.9b08714
First Blood Transfusion: A History - JSTOR Daily
daily.jstor.org/first-blood-transfusion
Clinical Results of Perftoran Application: Present and Future
tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1081/BIO-200046654?needAccess=true
