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The Mysterious Exploration of Artificial Blood: Why Can't Existing Technology Completely Replace Natural Blood?
With the rapid advancement of medical technology today, the research on artificial blood has always been one of the hot spots in the field of biomedicine. From overcoming the shortage of blood supply to pursuing convenience and safety, scientists continue to explore the possibility of replacing natural blood. However, why complete replacement has not been achieved so far has become a question worth pondering.
Historical background
As early as 1616, after William Harvey discovered the blood circulation system, humans began to explore various liquids as blood substitutes, even including alcohol and urine. At the beginning of the 20th century, the development of modern transfusion medicine enabled humans to begin to understand blood types and blood physiology. Especially in disaster situations such as World War II, the demand for blood substitutes was even more urgent.
In fact, the emergence of infectious diseases such as HIV and mad cow disease has further driven research on safe blood substitutes.
Limitations of current technology
Currently, research on artificial blood is mainly divided into two categories-heme-based blood substitutes and perfluorocarbon emulsions (PFC). Although these substances are close to natural blood in some functions, they still cannot completely replace it, such as lack of long-term oxygen transport capacity. For example, although perfluorocarbons are effective at transporting oxygen, their complex manufacturing procedures and storage requirements have become a major challenge.
Oxygen carrier challenges
Among the many oxygen carriers, heme-based blood substitutes (HBOCs) face particularly difficult challenges. Unmodified free heme is ineffective in delivering oxygen to tissues due to its high affinity, and the potential for kidney damage makes it more difficult to be a viable alternative. Although there are many methods of engineering or chemical improvement, the boundaries of medical use have never been exceeded.
Hope for the future: stem cell technology
Stem cell technology provides a new way of thinking. By inducing and culturing hematopoietic stem cells, scientists hope to produce mature red blood cells in a laboratory environment, and the lifespan of these cells is close to that of natural heme. However, this method is still in the development stage, and many technical challenges need to be overcome before it can be applied clinically on a large scale.
The development of stem cells will not only help solve blood supply problems, but also quickly provide the blood needed in emergency medical situations.
Market reaction
The market demand for artificial blood is also rising with the aging of the population and the growth of medical needs. Although some products have already entered the market, such as Hemopure, which was licensed in South Africa, overall, the commercialization path of these artificial blood is still bumpy. Compared with the natural blood supply chain, the safety and effectiveness of artificial blood need to be further confirmed.
Conclusion: Future Directions
In future scientific research and exploration, how to overcome the limitations of current technology and find safer and more efficient artificial blood alternatives will be a major challenge and opportunity for the scientific research community. Could a clearer path be found that would allow us to successfully use artificial blood to save lives without relying on natural blood?
