Biological chemist Samuel Danishefsky has spent 10 years researching how to synthesize the protein hormone necessary for producing red blood cells. The hormone is key in creating red blood cells from scratch. He and his team at Sloane Kettering Institute for Cancer Research have successfully done just that.

Danishefsky have reated a version of EPO in their lab from scratch. The protein comes with an attached sugar, and is naturally produced in the body by the kidneys. It is an essential component to produce red blood cells and to stimulate the process in the bone marrow.

EPO also helps the body create hemoglobin, which carries this oxygen through the blood.

Danishefsky’s team strung together a chain of amino acids to make the protein and integrated large sugars into the process. They injected mice with the synthesized EPO and began to see more red blood cells being produced.

While the process isn't perfect just yet, it holds a lot of promise and potential. Drugs can be created without living cells and blood drives may become a thing of the past. Next up? Synthesize white blood cells please!

[Scientific American]