Blood Substitutes

“If this really works all the way, then mankind will have taken a big step forward. This is like landing on the moon."

-Dr. Pierre LaFolie

Types of stem cells

ASC (adipose stem cells)
CSC (cochlear stem cells)
CTP (connective tissue progenitors)
ESC (embryonic stem cells)
HSC (hematopoietic stem cells)
HB1 (AC133+ hemangioblasts from umbilical cord blood)
iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells)
MSC (mesenchymal stem cells)
MAPC (multi-potent adult stem cells)
NSC (neural stem cells/oligodendrocyte progenitors)
SKMB (skeletal myoblasts and muscle stem cells), and
UCB (umbilical cord blood derived stem cells)

Professor Martin L Olsson

The Regional Blood Center, Lund University Hospital, Sweden
Martin Olsson is a Professor of Transfusion Medicine at Lund University, Lund, Sweden and a Visiting Associate Professor/Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. He received his medical degree and PhD at Lund University. His main clinical and research interests are in the molecular genetics of red cell surface markers with a special emphasis on carbohydrate histo-blood group systems and blood typing. His scientific contributions have focused on clarifying the correlation between red cell phenotypes and the underlying genetic polymorphisms, as well as glycosyltransferase function in different blood groups. He is also interested in pathogen-related aspects of blood group antigens and different mechanisms of protection against hemolysis, including exoglycosidase-treated red cells for ABO-universal transfusion. Dr. Olsson serves as Associate Editor of Transfusion Medicine and is a member of the Editorial Board of Transfusion. His awards include the Jean Julliard Prize from the International Society of Blood Transfusion, the Race and Sanger Award from the British Blood Transfusion Society, the Fernstrِm Prize at Lund University and the Hain Foundation Prize

scapegoating

scapegoat

In the Old Testament, a goat that was symbolically burdened with the sins of the people and then killed on Yom Kippur to rid Jerusalem of its iniquities. Similar rituals were held elsewhere in the ancient world to transfer guilt or blame. In ancient Greece, human scapegoats were beaten and driven out of cities to mitigate calamities. In early Roman law, an innocent person was allowed to assume the penalty of another; Christianity reflects this notion in its belief that Jesus died to atone for the sins of mankind.

Artificial Blood Products And Artificial Oversight?

Artificial blood products increased the risk of death by 30 percent and almost tripled the risk of heart attacks in 16 clinical trials, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers write that the FDA should have stopped the studies eight years ago, but meanwhile five trials are still under way and another is about to begin.

Eight years ago, the FDA received data on individual studies showing increased risks that should have triggered suspension of testing until a large-scale analysis could be conducted, according to the researchers, who say the FDA should end the trials and Congress should review rules forcing the agency to keep info on new products confidential for competitive reasons.

“One straightforward solution to these problems would be for Congress to reverse the FDA’s policy of treating as confidential all corporate materials submitted during the product development process, including the investigational drug application,” the researchers wrote. The blood products studied were made by Baxter International, Biopure, Hemosol BioPharma, Northfield Laboratories and Sangart.

“If you have secret science, things like this can happen,” Charles Natanson, a septic shock researcher at the National Institutes of Health, tells Bloomberg News. “Once you’ve randomized patients, your results can’t be a trade secret. It’s a measure of protection to the American public.”


But Jay Epstein, director of the FDA’s office of blood research and review, tells Bloomberg that analyzing several studies together as one has its limitations. And he adds that the agency also has unpublished info not available to the study’s authors that shows potential benefits of artificial blood. It’s not clear whether that info will be discussed at an FDA workshop being held tomorrow to review the products.

Filgrastim

Filgrastim is a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) analog used to stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of granulocytes. It is produced by recombinant DNA technology. The gene for human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is inserted into the genetic material of Escherichia coli. The G-CSF then produced by E. coli is only slightly different from G-CSF naturally made in humans. It is marketed by Amgen with the brand name Neupogen, Reliance Biopharmaceuticals with the brand name Religrast,Zenotech Laboratories Limited with the brand name Nugrafand also by Raichem lifesciences with the brand name Shilgrast.Filgrastim is used to treat neutropenia (a low number of neutrophils), stimulating the bone marrow to increase production of neutrophils. Causes of neutropenia include chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.Filgrastim is also used to increase the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood before collection by leukapheresis for use in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.It is produced by many companies worldwide.

Lund Stem Cell Center

Established in January 2003, the center focuses on stem cell and developmental biology of the central nervous and blood systems, and development of stem cell and cell replacement therapies in these organ systems as well as research in non-mammalian model systems.

Consisting of many strong research groups and almost 130 people under "one roof", the Center is already one of the largest in the field, with the goal of becoming a major force in translational research and career development in biomedical research.

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