Artificial Blood: A Life Defending Tool

Blood is one of the most essential components of the body. It carries out various functions that are life sustaining. Situations may arise when the requirement of blood quantity cannot be met as in case of intense injury or surgical conditions where volume of blood may not be sufficient enough to support the survival of life. In such cases there is an inevitable requirement of the source from where the requirement can be met. So, the present review focuses on such products which can be used in place of blood for supporting the life. These products are designated as Artificial Blood. Artificial blood is a product made in order to substitute Red Blood Corpuscles, with the main function of transportation of respiratory gases, Oxygen and Carbon-dioxide throughout the body as well as fill fluid volume. But the product lacks other blood related objectives including absence of cells, coagulation properties and defence mechanisms. Artificial blood products can be broadly classified into two categories: Perflourocarbon based and Hemoglobin Based Oxygen Carriers products, each being associated with its specific advantages and disadvantages. The concept of artificial blood is not only theoretical but the products have been developed and are undergoing commercial development, with some being marketed and others being undergoing clinical and preclinical trials. Besides this, other blood replacement alternatives like antigen camouflage, transgenic therapeutic proteins, platelet substitute for cancer, etc. are also employed, while stem cells, dendrimers, biodegradable micelles and blood from placental umbilical cord may serve for future investigation of blood alternatives.