Good news, vampires! Now you can drink synthetic blood! Like real blood, but not, but safe for clinical use! Researchers from the UK have developed a technique to culture universal type-O blood from stem cells. We will never run out of blood supply now!

The breakthrough could mean an end to blood shortages in emergencies. It is the first time scientists have been able to manufacture blood that is safe to use for transfusion in a human being.

Marc Turner is the principal researcher in this £5 million (USD $8.37 million ) project funded by the Wellcome Trust told The Telegraph about how he made red blood cells fit for clinical transfusion.

Red blood cells are cultured from induced pluripotent stem cells which are extracted from humans and rewound into stem cells. The blood can be produced with a required quality and can now begin clinical trials. The Telegraph reports:
There are plans in place for the trial to be concluded by late 2016 or early 2017, he said. It will most likely involve the treatment of three patients with Thalassaemia, a blood disorder requiring regular transfusions. The behaviour of the manufactured blood cells will then be monitored.

"The cells will be safe," he said, adding that there are processes whereby cells can be removed.

The technique highlights the prospect of a limitless supply of manufactured type-O blood, free of disease and compatible with all patients.

"Although blood banks are well-stocked in the UK and transfusion has been largely safe since the Hepatitis B and HIV infections of the 1970s and 1980s, many parts of the world still have problems with transfusing blood," said Prof Turner.
[The Telegraph.]

So it has come to this: