from Hacker News

Japanese scientists develop artificial blood compatible with all blood types

by Geekette on 6/2/25, 9:44 PM with 64 comments

  • by rockfishroll on 6/2/25, 10:46 PM

    Biopure was a company doing something similar in the US. They imploded in the early 2000s, but they had created an "oxygen therapeutic" (blood substitute) by isolating hemoglobin based oxygen carrying molecules FROM COW BLOOD!

    The fact that they weren't using whole red blood cells meant the product was typeless, room temp stable, and better at perfusing around arterial blockages and into tissue since the molecules were so small.

    Unfortunately, the company was kind of a mess. They managed to get licensed for sale in South Africa, and in the US for the veterinary product, but never managed FDA approval. It's a shame. Everyone could see the promise of the product, and it really actually worked, but they just couldn't seem to make the business viable.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopure

    Edit: When I say they imploded, I really mean it. They got prosecuted for misleading statements to investors about the state of US clinical trials, and the legal proceedings became farcical.

    "On March 11, 2009 [Senior VP] Howard Richman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court and admitted he had instructed his lawyers to tell a judge he was gravely ill with colon cancer. He also admitted to posing as his doctor in a phone call with his lawyer so that she would tell the judge that his cancer had spread and that he was undergoing chemotherapy."

    That guys was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Here's hoping this new blood substitute has a happier outcome!

  • by 0cf8612b2e1e on 6/2/25, 10:27 PM

      The artificial blood is created by extracting hemoglobin — a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells — from expired donor blood. It is then encased in a protective shell to create stable, virus-free artificial red blood cells. As these artificial cells have no blood type, there is no need for compatibility testing.
    Blood-derived synthetic. Still cool, but continues to require a pool of donors.

  • by energywut on 6/2/25, 11:31 PM

    Interesting to see. There's been some other efforts in this space, from blood products derived to chemically derived (e.g. perflurocarbons, which carry many multiples of what hemoglobin can carry, oxygen-wise).

    There's definitely a need for a safe, shelf stable blood substitute.

    Though, I'd argue that this isn't artificial blood, it's artificially replacing only the oxygen carrying role of blood -- there's nothing in this product that is producing clotting, fighting disease, managing hormones, fueling cells, etc. Still, excited to see this progress, transfusions are still a risky bet, and having something that can provide at least the O2 capacity in a safer package is very welcome.

  • by k_sze on 6/3/25, 2:30 AM

    It's odd. It seems like this is not the first Japanese team to have developped artificial blood. I did a quick search and it seems there was another team at least as early as 2019 (https://web.archive.org/web/20201111233217/http://www.asahi....)

    So what's different this time?

    (Upon further examination, the 2019 team at the National Defense Medical College also had Dr Hiromi Sakai. So why is this news now?)

  • by Geekette on 6/2/25, 9:45 PM

  • by userbinator on 6/3/25, 5:49 AM

    When I saw "compatible with all blood types", I thought it was another of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_substitute#Perfluorocarb... "full synthetic" ones, of which one is already in active use in Mexico and Russia.

  • by awinter-py on 6/3/25, 2:54 AM

    guessing it's this liposome tech (same lead author, sakai): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33845721/

    more on what I assume is their hemoglobin prep process: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30715862/

    and if you want to make your own liposomes, instructions here https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8234105/

  • by jschveibinz on 6/3/25, 2:05 PM

    U.S. company Kalocyte is developing an artificial blood that is shelf-stable. DARPA has been partnering with them. They were featured in an article in the New Yorker earlier this year: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/02/10/the-long-quest...

  • by yeknoda on 6/2/25, 10:01 PM

    -2.5% to US GDP

  • by kseistrup on 6/3/25, 10:49 AM

    Since production relies on donor blood, I guess this product will not be of any help to members of Jehova's Winesses.

  • by thatoneguy on 6/3/25, 6:45 PM

    Amazing! Literally the premise of the HBO show _True Blood_ from the 2000s. Japanese scientists invent artificial blood which allows vampires to "come out of the coffin".

    OK, I guess we'll wait and see about the vampires. But the blood substitute and Japanese scientists thing was spot-on, at least.

  • by KnuthIsGod on 6/3/25, 2:47 AM

    "Three groups of four healthy male volunteers aged 20 to 50 received a single intravenous injection "

    Tested in 12 people, once. Hmm...

    "The artificial blood is created by extracting hemoglobin — a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells — from donor blood"

    So needs blood as a raw material.

  • by light_hue_1 on 6/3/25, 4:10 AM

    Don't get your hopes up. This is astronomically away from anything real. The hard part hasn't even started.

    All they know right now is that humans can tolerate their blood product. They have no idea if it actually helps. And testing that is going to be an ethical mess.

    We've already been through this! PolyHeme was developed for decades, went into trials in 2009, and was a disaster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolyHeme

    Testing PolyHeme was a landmark in research ethics in the US. Obviously not in a good way. The problem is that you can only test these things in people who are very sick and then you hope that you aren't killing them. That's sketchy at best.

    PolyHeme went a step further and tested on people without their consent in secret. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(06)02263-3/fu...

    They probably killed a dozen people or so. Lets hope this has a better outcome.

  • by calmbonsai on 6/2/25, 11:40 PM

    Since it's extracted from expired blood we could still theoretically be living in a "Daybreakers" timeline. ;)

  • by androiddrew on 6/3/25, 2:35 AM

    Seems like a plot point to a CW vampire show…

  • by CapricornNoble on 6/3/25, 3:31 AM

    What implications might this have for battlefield medicine?

  • by BobbyTables2 on 6/2/25, 10:12 PM

    Blood donation organizations hate this one trick!