Mac breakthrough: turning skin into blood

Researchers at Hamilton’s McMaster University are making international news: they have found a way to turn skin into blood.

The ground-breaking discovery is gaining attention from all over the world. This could lead to alternative sources for blood disorders and transfusions. Eventually, patients with diseases like cancer and anemia will be able to be treated with blood grown from a patch of their own skin. Researchers are now working on using skin to grow other types of cells, too.

Mick Bhattia, McMaster University: “Certainly we wont know when it’ll go into the clinic. But I see the first sets of patients being patients who are suffering from leukemia. That’s when their blood system becomes cancerous. Us being able to take skin cells and convert them to healthy blood specifically adult blood would provide great substitute product and hopefully out-compete those leukemic cells.”

Clinical trials could begin within two years.

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