Armed forces could benefit from £50 million novel blood products research

£50 million of funding available to research novel blood products to improve treatment in emergency and trauma care.

A £50 million funding opportunity is available for the development of a 14-year novel blood products research centre, set to benefit armed forces on the frontline. 

Novel blood products research aims to improve treatment in emergency and trauma care and address current critical blood product challenges nationally. 

The funding opportunity is being delivered by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in partnership with MOD’s Defence Medical Services and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).  

Research applications are invited to advance the development of novel blood products which include a focus on current and future challenges such as: 

Improving traditional blood products, by reducing the requirement for cold storage and developing products that can be administered universally rather than to a specific blood group. 

Accelerating the development of laboratory-derived blood, whether synthetic or from cell-lines, which will reduce the reliance on donors. 

Develop novel products with characteristics that natural blood cannot achieve. 

Blood transfusions are critically important, including in emergency situations such as trauma-related haemorrhage, blood disorders such as anaemia, and treatment-related complications including cancer. 

The existing supply chain is fragile due to a shortage of blood donors. Each of the UK’s four nations relies on a single provider to meet demand, while successful transfusions require blood from compatible, cross-matched donors to avoid reactions. 

Global challenges including blood products that have specific requirements for storage, handling and shelf-life are exacerbated in a warfighting at scale scenario, where access to specialist biomedical support, state-of-the-art facilities and cold-chain storage may be limited, and geography may prevent blood provision close to the point of need.