In Japan a real race against time has begun: the population in rapid aging and the decrease of donors are creating a crisis in the availability of blood for transfusions. A crisis aggravated by extreme events, earthquakes, isolation of rural areas and by the logistical complexity of the collection and conservation of the blood donated.
But a concrete response is getting closer. Japan is preparing to start Clinical tests on Human Volunteers of Artificial Blood by March 2025a pioneering project that could revolutionize emergency medicine and hospital care. The goal? Create a synthetic blood that can be used by anyone, at all times and in every part of the worldwithout worrying about blood group compatibility or immediate availability.
What really is artificial blood and why it can represent a turning point in the medicine of the future
Behind this project there are two prominent names of Japanese research: Hiromi Sakaiprofessor at Nara Medical University, e Veryuki komatsuprofessor of Chuo University. The two scientists, with different but complementary approaches, are working on a form of synthetic blood made from the hemoglobin extracted from the blood donated now expired.
In the case of the Sakai team, hemoglobin – the protein that transports oxygen to red blood cells – comes enclosed in a protective microspheregiving rise to a sort of safe, sterile artificial red blood cell, without viruses and, above all, without a blood group. This means that it could be administered To anyonewithout having to wait for compatibility tests. A precious weapon in case of serious accidents, calamities or in situations where every minute is vital.
Komatsu’s research group, on the other hand, has developed synthetic oxygen transporterscombining hemoglobin and albumin (a natural blood protein) in a system that can also stabilize blood pressure and help in serious conditions like hemorrhages or strokes.
And a curious detail – who seems to come out of a science fiction story – is that Artificial blood is purple. Yes, Viola. An unusual color due to the particular processing of hemoglobin, but which does not affect its functionality in the least. A concrete proof that appearance, in medicine, can be deceptive.
The first experiments date back to 2022, when they were successfully tested Incapsulated hemoglobins, called “hemoglobin vesicles”confirming its ability to transport oxygen similarly to natural red blood cells. Now you enter the decisive phase: Between March and April 2025researchers will begin to administer doses between 100 and 400 milliliters of artificial blood to healthy volunteers, to evaluate their safety and check for any side effects.
If everything goes according to the plans, the experiments will be gradually expanded, with the aim of get to real clinical use by 2030. And the perspective is surprising: Artificial blood can be kept up to two years at room temperaturewhile the one donated has a duration of about a month and requires the cold chain.
A technology, therefore, that can make a difference not only in hospitals, but also in remote contexts, on ambulances, in areas affected by wars or natural catastrophes.
Scientific research is made of data, formulas, studies. But behind this race for artificial blood production there are above all human lives: patients who risk dying if they do not receive a timely transfusion, families waiting for news, doctors who are facing emergencies without adequate supplies, as explained by Professor Sakai:
The need for artificial blood cells is concrete. There is currently no safe replacement of red blood cells. We have to fill this void.
And this is precisely the true strength of the Japanese project :. If the tests will result, Japan will be the first country in the world to have a technology that can literally save millions of lives, everywhere and in any situation.
