Synthetic blood is a product that acts as a substitute for red blood cells, designed with the purpose of transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body. The development of artificial blood is desirable because of the problems associated with blood transfusions, particularly the risk of transmitting viral diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. There are also difficulties with transporting and storing blood (synthetic blood is kept in powder form), as well as a perpetual shortage of blood donors.
In 1956 Thomas Chan (b. 1933), working on an undergraduate research project at McGill University, Montreal, created the first artificial blood cells. Turning his dormitory room into a makeshift laboratory, Chan used improvised materials (including perfume atomizers) and cellulose nitrate solution (a material used to coat wounds) to create a permeable sack that could transport hemoglobin. Hemoglobin can be extracted from old donor blood, cow's blood, plants, and fungi. It is
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