Researchers in the UK inform us that they are infusing small amounts of lab-grown blood into people during clinical trials to test its efficacy. Though blood donations will always be needed, the purpose of this experiment is to see if rare and ultra-rare blood types can be created that are difficult to get. This may benefit people with certain conditions, such as thalassemia and anemia, who require blood on a regular basis and have a rare blood group.
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The therapy fails if the blood is not a perfect match because the body begins to reject it. This degree of tissue correspondence extends beyond the well-known blood groups A, B, AB, and O. For instance, Professor Ashley says that there are people with such unique blood groups that they can only receive blood from 10 people in the world.
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