I-Corps: A Natural Polymer-Based Engineered Red Blood Cell Product

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project addresses many of the concerns people may have with blood donation and transfusion, including ethical and religious reasons, as well as a number of supply chain related issues. According to the America Red Cross, approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S., which corresponds to a $1.5 billion annual market. Importantly, many of the risks associated with human blood can be mitigated or eliminated with an engineered product. Other issues include cost and availability of human blood and its processing, such as screening for infectious diseases or spot availability in the supply chain due to natural or other disasters. It is possible that an engineered blood product could become widely available throughout the world and be shipped in large quantities as and where needed, addressing significant supply chain issues. The widely available engineered product may also provide a more affordable alternative to human blood, driving down the costs of expensive human blood products. Lastly, the engineered blood product could also be made available for veterinary procedures where collection systems of animal products is limited.This I-Corps project investigates the commercialization of an engineered red blood cell product, based on natural biopolymers, which mimics natural red blood cells both morphologically and functionally. A prototype has been developed by using a novel polymeric red-blood-cell-shaped hydrogel microcapsule to enclose hemoglobin, which is vastly different from other existing prototypes that exclusively focus on non-encapsulated hemoglobin. The prototype has been tested under physiological conditions, ensuring potential clinical applications. This engineered product is ultimately aimed at replacing human red blood cells for blood transfusion.