By James Gallagher
\nHealth and science correspondent
\nBlood that has been grown in a laboratory has been put into people in a world-first clinical trial, UK researchers say.<\/p>\n
Tiny amounts – equivalent to a couple of spoonfuls – are being tested to see how it performs inside the body.<\/p>\n
The bulk of blood transfusions will always rely on people regularly rolling up their sleeve to donate.<\/p>\n
But the ultimate goal is to manufacture vital, but ultra-rare, blood groups that are hard to get hold of.<\/p>\n
These are necessary for people who depend on regular blood transfusions for conditions such as sickle cell anaemia.<\/p>\n
If the blood is not a precise match then the body starts to reject it and the treatment fails. This level of tissue-matching goes beyond the well-known A, B, AB and O blood groups.<\/p>\n
Prof Ashley Toye, from the University of Bristol, said some groups were “really, really rare” and there “might only be 10 people in the country” able to donate.<\/p>\n
At the moment, there are only three units of the “Bombay” blood group – first identified in India – in stock across the whole of the UK.<\/p>\n