| Types of blood substitutes |
Types of blood substitutes
diagram illustrating a red blood cell containing blood substitute types.
What substitutes are we developing?
At the moment there are two lines of research that are being pursued in the development of an effective blood substitute. The two approaches are shown below:
| Approach | Theme of research | Basis for substitute development | Substitute type |
| Biomimetic | Mimicking nature's way of delivering oxygen to the body's tissues | Producing injectable fluids based on chemically-modified products of Haemoglobin (Hb) | Hb-based Substitute |
| Abiotic | Use of totally synthetic chemicals to deliver oxygen to the tissues | Producing injectable emulsions of compounds known as perfluorochemicals (PFCs) | PFC-based Substitute |
Both types of blood substitute currently under development have their own merits and shortcomings, but both lines of research are proving successful. Many scientists favour research into Hb-based substitutes since these are based on the body's natural oxygen carrying molecule. However, the potential for PFC-based substitutes is undeniable and has caused much excitement among many members of the scientific community.
| Want to know more about Haemoglobin based substitues ? | Want to know more about PFC based substitues ? |
| What are haemoglobin-based substitutes ? click here | What are PFC based substitutes? click here |
| The science behind haemoglobin-based substitutes. click here | The science behind PFC-based substitutes. click here |
| Current haemoglobin-based products. click here | Current PFC-based products. click here |