Longevity & AgingLab-Grown Red Blood Cells From Stem Cells Reach Transfusion-Scale Production
Researchers at Sanquin Research Amsterdam developed a scalable platform to produce red blood cells (RBCs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using dynamic suspension culture. Unlike previous static systems with poor enucleation rates below 25%, this new feeder-free, GMP-compatible approach achieves 40–70% enucleation. The system yields approximately 4,600 RBCs per starting iPSC, meaning only ~49 million iPSCs are needed to produce a mini-transfusion unit. Cells express primarily fetal hemoglobin, are smaller and more mature than 2D-derived counterparts, and demonstrate functional oxygen delivery both in vitro and in vivo. This work bridges small-scale static culture to large-scale bioreactor production, marking a critical step toward clinical-grade lab-grown blood.
