Blood cell manufacture: current methods and future challenges

Blood transfusion depends on availability of donor material, and concerns over supply and safety have spurred development of methods to manufacture blood from stem cells. Current methods could theoretically yield therapeutic doses of red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. However, due to the very large number of cells required to have any impact on supply (currently 1019 RBC/year in the US), realization of routine manufacture faces significant challenges. Current yields are orders of magnitude too low for production of meaningful quantities, and the physical scale of the problem is a challenge in itself. We discuss these challenges in relation to current methods and how it might be possible to realize limited ‘blood pharming’ of neutrophils in the near future.