Blood Relatives
First-generation artificial blood is about to hit the market.
By Linda Wang
Last year, the tally of blood transfusions climbed to a record high. More people are donating blood than ever before, but a rapidly aging society is using it up even faster as the number of elective surgeries and medical treatments requiring blood transfusions continues to rise.
This year, things are starting out even worse. “We have in fact seen the worst . . . in memory, in terms of blood availability,” says Harvey G. Klein, president of the American Association of Blood Banks in Bethesda, Md.