ErythroMer is a red blood substitute in development funded by the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U ...

and

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. Similar to other HBOCs, the product is stable for several months even when freeze-dried, and can be reconstituted from its lyophilized state in emergency situations. This opens up the possibility of eventual stockpiling of ErythoMer making it easier to supply blood in large amounts to those who need it. The development of this technology was done at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...

and

UIUC The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

. Trials have been successful in rats, mice, and rabbits, and human trials are planned. ErythroMer is a reddish blood powder composed from hemoglobin from humans. By coating it with a synthetic polymer, it is able to sense pH changes, allowing for oxygen pick up in areas where the pH levels are high, and disposal where the levels are low.

References

Blood substitutes Washington University in St. Louis University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign {{blood-drug-stub