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Los Angeles Times Scientists said Tuesday that they have devised a way to grow large quantities of blood in the lab using human embryonic stem cells, potentially making blood drives a relic of the past. But experts cautioned that although it represents a significant technical advance, the new approach requires several key improvements before it can be considered a realistic alternative to donor blood. The procedure was published online by the journal "Blood". The ability to make blood in the lab would guarantee that hospitals and blood banks have access to an ample supply of all types of blood, including the rare AB-negative and O-negative, the universal donor. It also would ensure that patients are never at risk of contracting diseases such as hepatitis C or HIV, which can be acquired from donor blood, said Dr. Dan Kaufman, associate director of the University of Minnesota's Stem Cell Institute, who wasn't involved in the study. "People don't usually think about these types of cells when they talk about human embryonic stem cell therapy, but it is important", Kaufman said. "There's more infections all the time, and the number of donors is more and more limited." Researchers have tried to harness the so-called adult stem cells that are responsible for making blood in the human body, but their methods were far too inefficient to be put to practical use, experts said. In the new study, the researchers were able to make up to 100 billion red-blood cells, enough to fill two or three collection tubes, frrom a single plate of embryonic stem cells. After allowing the stem cells to begin the earliest stages of embryonic development, the researchers prompted some of them to grow into red-blood cells by exposing them to a variety of proteins. Roger Dodd, vice-president of research and development at the American Red Cross' Holland Laboratory in Rockville, Md.., said producing blood in the lab could cost thouands of dollars per unit and be far too expensive to replace the 14 million pints of red-blood cells that are transfused every year. "It's a rather ambitious goal," Dodd said. Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn