UK scientists working on universal man-made blood which will save lives on battlefield

British military scientists are working to develop universal blood for soldiers deployed in conflict zones in order to save as many lives as possible. Soldiers, who get seriously wounded on the battlefield and require an immediate blood transfusion, often succumb to their injuries because of delays in treatment. Injured soldiers are evacuated to base camps, where they are assessed and given the required treatment, but sometimes, due to delay in acquiring certain blood types, lives are lost.

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According to UK's Daily Express, military forces across the world have been using blood group 'O' negative for emergency transfusion, but not everybody type can adapt to it as it reacts differently on different people. Huge demand for the blood group is also one of the key concerns, which is why the British military scientists have decided to develop universal man-made blood.

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The universal blood is being developed by the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. According to the report, the project is expected to be ready within a decade. The project will help tackle certain logistical challenges, including storing eight different types of blood at camps and air ambulances. The research has progressed to independently growing red blood cells without any donations of blood. 

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Device to minimise blood loss

The British Defence Ministry has also funded another project to develop and test a novel blood salvage device to minimise blood loss in severely injured personnel in the field. "The device is able to directly return the blood loss due to open injury to the casualty or to concentrate the blood and return it in the form of concentrated blood cells," the UK government said in a 2016 press release.

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