干细胞有望无限造血，再也不需要献血了？
Blood donors may no longer be needed in the future after scientists showed it was possible to create blood from stem cells. The 20-year project could get ready for an unlimited number of blood and immune cells for transplants(移植). It could be done simply by reprogramming a patient’s own skin cells.
The research was reported in the journal Nature. It makes us see the hope of developing personal designed treatments for blood disorders, drug-screening and reducing shortages of donated blood.
Dr Ryohichi Sugimura, of Boston Children’s Hospital, said, “This gives us the possibility to have a limitless supply of blood stem cells and blood by taking cells from universal donors(万能供血者).” This could possibly increase the blood supply for patients who need blood put-in. For patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after accidents or during a medical operation, or new mums who lose blood in childbirth, blood is an important part of healthcare.
In the new research, the Boston team started with embryonic stem cells(胚胎干细胞) and put them into a chemical soup which began their change into a tissue(细胞组织) which makes blood stem cells in the end. When the tissue was transplanted in mice, new blood cells were created in the animals.